700mhz auction results are in!

[FerrariEnzo]

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?...&crtr.tp1D=930

Here's the lay of the land so far:

Lower A was bought mainly by Rogers, but Bell and TELUS got a small slice of it. This is the same as the spectrum T-Mobile just purchased from Verizon. No devices (or almost no?) sold in Canada today support this band so far.

In every province, Rogers acquired one of either lower B or lower C. All LTE devices already sold in Canada will immediately be compatible with Rogers LTE on this band.

In every region of the country, one of Bell or TELUS acquired one of either lower B or lower C. If they share as expected, all LTE devices already sold in Canada will immediately be compatible with Belus LTE on this band. In every region of the country, whichever company didn't buy lower B or C instead bought upper C2. Most Belus models sold today do not support this band yet, but the iPhone 5S/5C is a notable exception. Belus has the buying power to ensure future devices do support the upper spectrum too. Notice that Bell & Telus 700 MHz spectrum is not contiguous anywhere.

Videotron's spectrum is upper C1, which is half of the spectrum Verizon uses across the USA. Most or all of Videotron's devices do not support this band. In southern Ontario they own some AWS HSPA. If Videotron bought Mobilicity, they would be able to deploy AWS LTE immediately in southern Ontario. They would not have enough spectrum in BC/AB for AWS LTE unless they could also acquire Shaw's or WIND's spectrum. They would have to wait for compatible devices before launching 700 MHz LTE.


Totals 97(license) $5,270,636,002

[FerrariEnzo]

Rogers was hungry... $3.2 billion.. damn

I think Videotron will gobble up Mobi and/or Wind... they bought license in BC and AB

[Vale46Rossi]

This news got overshadow'd by the facebook one eh.... this is interesting.

Rogers came out swinging.

[FerrariEnzo]

$19billion international news vs $5billion Canadian news.. lol

[Simplex123]

so why did Telus spend double of Bell and got even one less?

[nabs]

Looks like I'm gonna be getting a lot more work!!!

TELUS has been preparing for this since the middle of summer 2013, all new sites built have had provisions for 700MHz amended to their plans. Really exciting for me.

[willystyle]

Originally Posted by FerrariEnzo

Rogers was hungry... $3.2 billion.. damn

I think Videotron will gobble up Mobi and/or Wind... they bought license in BC and AB

Vimpelcom has no intentions to sell WIND Mobile despite of what you hear in the media, and Videotron does not have the finance to buy WIND.

Mobilicity, on the other hand, is only around because Industry Canada does not want them to be bought out by an incumbent.

[Coren]

Vimpelcom does want to get rid of Wind because the government hasn't allowed them to take full ownership of it. They are probably waiting for a good offer, one that will probably never rise because of the role the government plays in telecommunications.
On the other hand, Videotron has made a bid to buy mobilicity. The price wasn't as high as Telus's bid, but seeing how the government doesn't want an incumbent to own it, Videotron just might end up owning them.

[FerrariEnzo]

Originally Posted by Simplex123

so why did Telus spend double of Bell and got even one less?

Probably trying to outbid everyone on certain bands, is most likely what happening..

[Acura604]

Wireless auction no guarantee of better deals for phone users - Technology & Science - CBC News


Industry Minister James Moore is ebullient in discussing the just-announced results of the recent wireless spectrum auction and what it means for consumers.


Quebec cable company Vidéotron has emerged as the big winner with licences in its home province as well as Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, paving the way for its expansion into a new quasi-national cellphone provider.

“Every region in the country now has a fourth wireless player that has spectrum capacity to engage the market and provide them with real choice,” said Moore in a phone interview, referring also to other regional players Eastlink, MTS and Sasktel. “That’s a good thing.”


Talking to consumer groups and advocates, however, you get the sense that the minister might be the only one who’s pleased. If the critics are right, things are likely to get worse before they get better — if they ever do.


“I don’t think this changes much,” said Geoff White, counsel for the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre. “It looks very much like the status quo.”


The pessimism is understandable in a country with some of the highest monthly wireless bills in the world. Despite Vidéotron’s somewhat unexpected purchases, Canada’s Big Three wireless carriers — Bell, Rogers and Telus — still won most of the licences.


Consumers to foot the bills


All told, the auction brought in $5.27 billion, considerably more than the $1 billion or $2 billion analysts had been expecting.


With the incumbents spending most of that — about $4.8 billion — consumers could ultimately bear the brunt as the companies move to recoup their investments with even higher prices.


“This isn’t going to upset their dominance too much, which is what needs to happen,” said Steve Anderson, executive director of Vancouver-based Open Media. “We’re still in first period of the game. The government still has a lot more work to do.”


For one thing, there’s no guarantee Vidéotron will actually use the licences it bought. Its Montreal-based parent Quebecor paid $233 million for seven blocks: four in Quebec and eastern Ontario, and one each in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.


Rather than deploying the spectrum — the lifeblood of cellphone service — the company could hold on to it and eventually resell it to another buyer. Both Wind and Mobilicity, new carriers started in the wake of the previous spectrum auction in 2008, are up for sale. Quebecor could wait until someone acquires them, then sell its spectrum to that buyer at a profit.


The company got its licences for a relative song, mainly because it didn’t have much competition. The auction rules were structured so that Bell, Rogers and Telus were limited in how much spectrum they could buy, which gave a leg up to so-called new entrants, or companies with less than 10 per cent of the wireless market.


With Mobilicity under creditor protection and Wind’s Russian backer Vimpelcom pulling out at the last minute, the runway was clear for the few new entrants remaining.


Quebecor considers its options


Vidéotron qualified as one of those when it acquired spectrum in the previous auction and has since built its own network in Quebec, where it now has half a million wireless subscribers.


Quebecor is acknowledging that it took advantage of the golden opportunity, but remains cagey about its future plans.


“Given the way the auction unfolded, Quebecor Media could not pass up the opportunity to invest in licences of such great intrinsic value in the rest of Canada,” Vidéotron president Robert Dépatie said in a statement on Wednesday evening. “We now have a number of options available to us to maximize the value of our investment.”


Despite that, Moore believes the company is indeed planning to launch service in the three other provinces — or at least he expects it to.


“The money is non-refundable and that spectrum cannot be transferred to the Big Three. They’ve got to make a go of it,” he says. “Those are the best conditions we could have put in place as a government to dissuade people from trying to game the system or purchase spectrum without a serious plan to implement and engage the market.”


To that end, the government has also promised to introduce wholesale roaming legislation that will force the Big Three to open their networks on reasonable terms to smaller wireless providers. The pledge, reiterated in last week’s federal budget, will make it easier for such companies to fill in holes in their coverage, which would make a western rollout less costly for Vidéotron.


The company could also ease the process by acquiring Wind and/or Mobilicity. which have an estimated 630,000 and 190,000 customers respectively. Reports last month confirmed that Quebecor had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Mobilicity in advance of the spectrum auction.


Telus has twice tried to buy Mobilicity, but has been rebuffed by the government on both occasions. Moore said he remains committed to preventing sales of smaller wireless providers — and especially their spectrum — to the Big Three if it results in “undue concentration” of market power.


Acquisitions could aid expansion to west


Simon Lockie, chief regulatory officer for Wind, says Vidéotron would be smart to buy his company and Mobilicity if it does in fact want to expand westward, though he would not comment on whether there have been any discussions in that vein.


One of the problems the smaller players have encountered is too much competition — ironically, against each other. They were already at a disadvantage, since the Big Three typically sell other bundled services such as television and home internet, so duking it out among themselves only made matters worse.


“Vidéotron is starting from scratch. It’s a very unattractive proposition to be the fifth carrier in those regions,” Lockie says. “You don’t want to get into the same sort of [situation] that everyone’s been in. If you’re going to be a pure-play fourth carrier, you’d better be the only one.”


Regardless of what happens with Vidéotron and pricing, customers of the Big Three — as well as Eastlink in the Maritimes, MTS in Manitoba and Sasktel in Saskatchewan — are likely to see an improvement in the quality of their services. The spectrum that was auctioned off, in the 700 MHz range, is strong and particularly good at penetrating walls.


While they are popular targets for criticism, Bell, Rogers and Telus have built modern long-term evolution (LTE) networks that perform well in international benchmarks. Canadian mobile download speeds average at around 11 megabits per second while uploads average at five megabits, enough for 12th and 16th in the world, respectively, according to the Net Index from tracking firm Ookla.


“The acquisition of this spectrum will ensure Telus continues to deliver world-class speed, coverage and reliability,” said chief executive Darren Entwistle in a statement.


“Bell already offers LTE service to 82 per cent of the national population and this new 700 MHz spectrum will help us take the network further: To towns, rural locations and remote communities across the country including Canada’s North,” said Bell Mobility president Wade Oosterman in a similar release.


Nevertheless, consumer advocates say competition and pricing are issues that need further attention. Open Media’s Anderson, for one, would like to see additional regulations that further open up the wholesale market, where wireless companies would be required to effectively rent their networks to all comers.


“There’s an opportunity for more choice, but whether it’s seized depends on whether the government moves forward with other measures,” he says.


Moore, for his part, wants to see how the auction results shake out before committing to further action. “When consumers have more choice we’ll see how firms react,” he said.

[Gucci Mane]

too much fancy jargon in this thread.


so does this finally mean that my phone will work in the 3rd story of my house?

[shenmecar]

Originally Posted by Knight_KB

too much fancy jargon in this thread.


so does this finally mean that my phone will work in the 3rd story of my house?

No.

[GLOW]

any reason for me to hold on to my mobilicity acount? i don't really use it because i have a work phone.

[nabs]

Originally Posted by GLOW

any reason for me to hold on to my mobilicity acount? i don't really use it because i have a work phone.

It's cheap, works in metropolitan areas. I would keep it.

[nabs]

All anyone was talking about around the office today was 700MHz band. Everyone is so excited about this, lol.

[LP700-4]

Originally Posted by GLOW

any reason for me to hold on to my mobilicity acount? i don't really use it because i have a work phone.

+1

Same thing except my plan expires in a week, contemplating on renewing in the case that someone buys Mobi and get improved service with a dirt cheap plan or just jumping ship now.

[nabs]

Originally Posted by LP700-4

+1

Same thing except my plan expires in a week, contemplating on renewing in the case that someone buys Mobi and get improved service with a dirt cheap plan or just jumping ship now.

Unfortunately there is NO plans on Mobilicity expanding what so ever. It's basically at a standstill, and there are not even talks of any new sites or upgrades of existing ones as well.

[LP700-4]

Originally Posted by nabs

Unfortunately there is NO plans on Mobilicity expanding what so ever. It's basically at a standstill, and there are not even talks of any new sites or upgrades of existing ones as well.

Where should i port to then?

Either voice+text with a reliable carrier like fido/telus etc or voice+text+data from Wind

Anyone know if Wind reception is any better than Mobi?

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by LP700-4

Where should i port to then?

Either voice+text with a reliable carrier like fido/telus etc or voice+text+data from Wind

Anyone know if Wind reception is any better than Mobi?

How to get the $55- Koodo sk/mb plan.

[willystyle]

Originally Posted by LP700-4

Where should i port to then?

Either voice+text with a reliable carrier like fido/telus etc or voice+text+data from Wind

Anyone know if Wind reception is any better than Mobi?

WIND's reception is better than Mobi's in general, but ultimately comes down to the individual.

[Verdasco]

just wondering, what does this 700mhz auction mean?? from a newbie phone guy

[nabs]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

just wondering, what does this 700mhz auction mean?? from a newbie phone guy

I'll make this as easy as I can.

Think about you listening to the radio in your car. You are tuned into a certain frequency to be able to listen to that sound. In Canada, the CRTC is responsible for airways (frequency bands) that are being broadcast in free air. So say you are listening to The Beat. The Beat would have had to bid on the frequency of 94.5MHz to be allowed to broadcast on it. When 94.5MHz was up for auction (for example), Virgin Radio, The Peak, The Fox and all these stations would have had a chance to bid on it, but The Beat won the auction and holds a lease on that frequency for a certain number of years, and other contract mumbo jumbo.

Now say The Beat wanted to reach a wider audience, be able to expand for newer radios that are now offering that they can reach up to 130.3MHz. CRTC will say okay, now that new technologies can run up to this frequency, we will now be auctioning off 120.1Mhz. All the radio stations will get to bid on this frequency. If The Beat ends up winning the auction, they can now broadcast on two frequencies, their original frequency for current radios, and now 120.1 for new radios to reach a wider audience.

Now that is whats going on. For cell phones its a tiny bit more complex and we would have to get into and you would have to understand telecom broadcast engineering. I'll try anyways. So Telus broadcasts at 850, 1900 and 2100. Rogers broadcasts at 850, 1900, 2100, 2600. you'll notice that they broadcast at similar frequencies and you'll wonder why that is. Even though they both use the 850, 1900 and 2100MHz band, they use different channels within that band. So Telus would use Channels A, C, E. Rogers would use B, D, F. This just shows that different carriers can use the same band simultaneously on separate channels.

Another thing about the channels, each channel can only carry a limited number of users at a time.

When LTE was introduced, Rogers was lucky to get 2 bands dedicated for LTE right out of the gate (2100 and 2600). Telus only has one (2100). Since there are big plans coming out for LTE, and more users signing on to use it, Telus and Bell are saying, "Hey, we need more channels to support our LTE users." In comes CRTC, new cell phones are now capable of reaching 700MHz so we are now putting this up for auction. All providers now make their bids, and take their share of channels.

Another thing about frequencies is that they are free air, and only operational as long as their is an antenna present. So CRTC may lease the same channel to Telus in BC/Alberta, but can also lease the same channel to Sasktel in saskatchewan, and then again the same in Quebec to Videotron.

I hope that made some sense to you... I tried to make it as easy as possible

[FerrariEnzo]

Originally Posted by LP700-4

Where should i port to then?

Either voice+text with a reliable carrier like fido/telus etc or voice+text+data from Wind

Anyone know if Wind reception is any better than Mobi?

why go from 1 sinking ship to another?

LOL.. Wind doesnt look like they are going to expand rapidly if any expansion.. their financial status is still up in the air...

[RE-Jo]

Thanks for the explanation Nabs, but is there any benefit for the consumers?

[nabs]

^^
there's a lot of benefits for the end user.

1. LTE densification. So LTE signals will be as prevalent as 3G

2. More channels meaning higher of number of users per sector. Meaning consistent higher speeds.

3. Less 3G to LTE handover meaning better battery life.

4. Ability for the carrier to implement VoLTE service, which could reduce costs of making calls and better quality calls.

I can go on and on but those are the ones I can name off the top of my head.