Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Although America’s upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction could see a newcomer or two join the fold, Canada’s auction is actually calling for it. Reportedly, Industry Minister Jim Prentice made known that 40MHz of the 105MHz of spectrum available for bidding would be “set aside for newcomers to the industry,” hinting that more competition could eventually lead to lower cellphone rates across the nation. He went on to say that the “introduction of new service providers would help to make Canada’s wireless market more dynamic, more competitive, and more innovative,” and moreover, only companies that hold less than 10-percent of revenues in that market would be allowed to bid for the luscious 40MHz segment. As expected, big boys in the biz are none too pleased about the announcement, with Telus executive vice-president Janet Yale even going so far as to say that it believed the move “wouldn’t be in the best interest of consumers or telecom industry overall.” Right.

[Thanks, Andy]

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