In the summer of 2008, the Canadian government under Industry Canada auctioned off a large block of wireless spectrum called the AWS block for new mobile/cellular services. This auction represents a significant moment for the wireless industry in Canada. In recent recent years the Canadian mobile industry has been characterized by growing carrier consolidation (before the auction there were only 3 major mobile carriers in Canada and only one GSM carrier Rogers). These industry dynamics led to a situation where Canadians experienced among the highest pricing in the developed world for wireless services and among the lowest penetration rates of mobile phone and smart phone usage.
Why the AWS spectrum auction is so significant for the Canadians and the Canadian wireless industry is because the government did something special with this auction. The government designed the auction specifically to bring new wireless competition and new entrants to Canada. The AWS spectrum was divided into 6 blocks, 3 available for the 3 incumbents (or anyone else) to bid on and, this is the important part, 3 blocks were “set aside” only for new entrants. In addition, rules were put in place requiring the incumbent carriers to share tower space and allow roaming on their networks while new entrants are building out their networks.
This section of WirelessNorth.ca describes what happened throughout this auction and how it continues to reshape the industry.
Most Read Spectrum Auction Posts:
October 31st, 2008New Entrant: BMV’s bets big on bargain spectrum
The new entrant formerly known as 6934579 Canada Inc. (or on this blog as the Tirabassi mystery co.) has come clean on their plans for the Canadian Market. You may recall that 6934579 was an entrant than came out swinging early in the auction before settling on an somewhat oddball piece of spectrum (the G [...]
August 16th, 2008Spectrum Auction: How the Canadian Wireless industry has changed forever
Brave predictions on what the spectrum auction means for the wireless industry in Canada. [...]
July 21st, 2008Spectrum Auction: It’s Over, Final Results of Canada’s 2008 AWS Spectrum Auction
Well it’s finally done. More detailed analysis to come, but here’s your quick download of Canada’s 4.25 Billion Dollar AWS spectrum auction:
Top Bidders: Rogers: Big red was the biggest spender in this auction going right to the precipice of 1 Billion dollars to take almost the entire A block, 20MHz of new spectrum coast to coast.[...]
January 29th, 2008Everything you needed to know about the Canadian Spectrum Auction but were afraid to ask
The biggest wireless story of 2008 is going to be Canada’s upcoming spectrum auction. Technically, Canada is auctioning three chunks of spectrum, but only one of which, the “1700?, is particularly interesting for most uses. So much so, they’ve even given it a brand name: Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS).
The shocker of course, is that the [...]
Round by round live coverage of the spectrum auction:
July 16th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 298, yes 298
No that’s not a typo, we’re at round 298 in the spectrum auctions. Though you can see the major hostilities ceased 100s of rounds (weeks) ago, it’s as though some participants just don’t want this thing to end. Funny that. [...]
July 11th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 251 We were so almost done til the bidders caught Corwall fever
For several rounds yesterday the spectrum auction was down to one single new bid. We were almost there. Then it appeared someones (I blame Rogers) had had the cunning plan all along of patiently waiting it out until the other bidders had spent and carefully allocated every last dime of all the spectrum money they [...]
July 8th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 212 and not ending 5 lousy bids at a time
Remember Canada’s Spectrum Auction? Well, it’s still not over yet. While nearly 300 individual licenses totaling nearly 4.2 Billion dollars have been settled, a few bidders are still fussing over a tiny number of remaining licenses. The last few days have seen only 3-5 licenses changing hands for increment tens of thousands of dollars or [...]
July 3rd, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 182 and all but done
Bidding has slowed to trickle in Canada’s AWS spectrum auction with fewer than a dozen bids per round today. What you see here is close to the final picture on the bidding action. It’s clear that Rogers brought the largest wallet to the party, though Telus and Bell also have added to[...]
June 25th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 134 down to the short & curlies
Though the denouement could go on all week, we’re clearly into the short strokes of this spectral auction. The long dead ghosts of competition in this country finally revivified, as early as the end of this week, if you can imagine the specter of it.
The big winners will be: Quebecor, Globalive, Shaw, Data AV [...]
June 24th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 124 the Provincial Picture
No it’s not over yet. These guys are tireless. For your continued entertainment and erudition however WirelessNorth.ca offers you yet another view / sneak peak of Canada’s would-be wireless landscape. Everything depends on your province. The following tables give a representation of how much of the whole 90MHz of AWS spectrum is currently spoken for [...]
June 23rd, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 113, 4 Billion
Canada’s AWS spectrum auction passed 4 Billion dollars today. The end is finally near however as we can predict that this auction will finish up some time this week. The most dramatic action of the day was from Bragg. Bragg withdrew from a swath of 10MHz licenses across Atlantic Canada in round 109 in order [...]
June 19th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 90 in Pictures
The action has shifted today to a flurry of multiple bids for secondary regions in Quebec, the east and even the territories. From the squiggly chart above you can see clearly the bidding ceiling of each of the bidders – with only Rogers and perhaps Telus showing showing they might still have headroom un-revealed.[...]
June 18th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 79 Bidders hitting their limits
Bidders in Canada’s AWS auction are getting to down to the end of their bankrolls. Although each bidders holdings are zig-zagging every round, the one consistent pattern is that most of the bidders are capping out at a maximum amount they are willing to have on the table at one time. If we go back [...]
June 16th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 64 Mom, Dad, are we there yet?
Someone wake us up when we’re ready to land? At about 10 Million dollars an hour (rounds now start on the hour, 8 a day) the spectrum auction keeps spiraling up into the heavens. And yet not much is actually happening as the bid increments are getting smaller at this stage. ‘A’ block though has [...]
June 12th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 52 Clearer picture but any end in sight?
The Spectrum auction rolls onwards. At this point the hands are pretty much clear, but some players just don’t seem to sit still. Total auction proceeds are growing very slowly now nonetheless lots of little licenses are flip-flopping as several of the new entrants can’t seem to figure out how to divide a pie amicably. [...]
June 11th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 46 Quebecor Quits Toronto. Again. Then buys it back (again)
Are they drunk? Despite 60 new bids on other licences, the auction took a step back in total revenue this morning in round 44 as Quebecor withdrew, once again, a $97M for 35d, 10Mhz in the Toronto Area in round 44. As we reported, Quebecor placed this $97M bid on 35d in round 41 [...]
June 9th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 36 and it ain’t over yet
Spectrum bidders are back at it and bushy-tailed this morning with flurry of bidding activity in rounds 35 and 36. Rogers is having a tough time playing whack-a-mole in A block this morning fighting off incursions from various entrants and even Telus. Globalive and Quebecor have meanwhile gotten excited about playing an expensive game of [...]
June 6th, 2008Spectrum Auction: 3Billion and 32 Rounds
The end is near for the spectrum auction. Total proceeds eked above 3 billion back in round 29. But since then incremental rounds have been incrementing a mere 30-50 million. And everyone is sorting out their marbles. The big licences (think Toronto) haven’t changed hands in several rounds. It seems to be housekeeping now. [...]
June 4th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Bidders starting to drop out
Jaguar is out, TBay telecom is out, 6934579 Canada Inc. (Tirabassi) is all but out and may be entirely next round. Total bidding is up to 2.7B.
Here’s how the action is shaping up in Canada’s 3 largest markets. Remember that Bell, Telus and Rogers are only allowed to bid on 50MHz of blocks and 40MHz [...]
June 3rd, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 20 sails past 2.5B
Like a really expensive game of chicken, the spectrum auction goes crashes on again today. Up to 2.5B after round 20 and adding another 125M per round at this rate, which is a lot, when you think about it, for the right to push a few squiggly and invisible waves through a narrow swath of [...]
June 2nd, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 14, Who will blink first? auction hits 1.8B and climbing
Now in to it’s second week and 14th round of bidding, Canada’s AWS auction has hit 1.8Billion and is not showing immediate signs of slowing down. 68 licences received bids last round, actually up from the 40-50 bids of the last round. Thus far industry Canada’s decision to set aside new spectrum appears to have [...]
May 30th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 10 Auction Chaos Visualized
Graphical representation of the chaos and carnage of the auction so far. Each line representing the sum total of standing winning bids at the end of each round. Ready to pick a winner?
May 30th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 9 hits 1.1B
Here’s where things stand after 9 rounds. The number of lincences changing hands is slowing down as the bidders are now focused on slugging it out for the mostly for the big cities. Look carefully at the table below and differences in strategy become apparent. The likes of Bell and Telus are using the auction [...]
May 28th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Day 2 – The regional retreat
We’re 4 rounds in to the auction now and bidding patterns are starting to take shape. The big trend is that each of the bidders encumbents and entrants are falling back to focus on their core markets. So much for a new national carrier. How this auction changes the market will depend on where you [...]
May 28th, 2008Spectrum Auction: Round 2, more bidders show their hand
We’re into round two of the auction and things are just starting to get interesting. Bidders who were on the sidelines in round one have jumped in to make use of their hefty deposits. The total sum of winning bids is up to 560M just an incremental bump from earlier this morning. But the big [...]
May 27th, 2008Spectrum Auction: The Auction Begins! Quebecor big spender in round 1
Canada’s AWS spectrum auction got off to a big start today raising 490M so far in bids across all of the spectrum blocks.
So far it’s the new entrants making the biggest moves with Quebecor and Shaw leading the bidding along with mystery company 6934579 who many thought were out of the auction but seem to [...]