Xplornet joins call for rural set asides in spectrum auction

WOODSTOCK, NB – Xplornet Communications has joined a dozen other Internet service providers in calling on Industry Minister Christian Paradis to allow rural providers to bid for rural broadband spectrum at the next auction.The group has signed an open letter addressed to the Minister, available here, asking the auction rules to “set aside rural areas from urban areas and deal with them separately”. Broadband providers outside of cities use wireless signals to deliver broadband to rural and remote locations. Under current auction rules, spectrum is sold in large geographic blocks covering both urban and rural areas, making it too expensive for...