SPECTRUM TRANSFER REVIEW: Industry Canada proposals seen doing more harm than good

By Perry Hoffman

OTTAWA - Canadian wireless operators remain largely unconvinced that Industry Canada’s proposed changes to spectrum licence transfers will be good for the wireless market. New entrants and incumbents alike are opposed to any rule changes that would limit a secondary spectrum trading market. Mobilicity acknowledges that the department is trying to create a more competitive wireless market and took a first good step in setting aside spectrum in the 2008 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction. But the upstart says “the imposition of additional vague, open-ended restrictions on the transferability of spectrum” won’t help new entrants raise the capital they need...