Canadian Wireless Spectrum Announcement
The rumours are buzzing that a major announcement is due after 4pm this afternoon regarding Canada’s wireless spectrum allocation.
Watch this post for ongoing coverage. And look for full coverage at StartupNorth.ca later today -and- another highly-related announcement I can’t wait to tell you about.
more to come…
The news is out! And the media is already calling it a blockbuster announcement.
- 40 of the 105 available megahertz will be set aside for new entrants
- Incumbents will be required to allow roaming on their networks at reasonable rates (this is crutial as any new entrant could start regionally or take up to a few years to establish full national coverage)
- Incumbents will be required to share towers with new entrants (significantly reducing potential costs and redundant infrastructure for new entrants)
In so doing, the government has given the would-be entrants (and pretty much everyone except for the existing telcos and their bankers) everything that they were asking for.
The game is now on for startups and new entrants in the Canadian wireless space.
link: Official Announcement…
UPDATE: Read the full post on Startup north Finally, Wireless Competition Explodes in Canada And don’t forget to digg it.
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Thomas Purves
is an Entrepreneur and futurist for hire, lives in the great city of Toronto.
Can’t wait to see where this development goes in 1 or 2 years. GOOD NEWS on the canadian wireless market finally.
Thank you Thomas for posting ,
This news, on the heels of Bell’s HTC Touch data plan introduction, has made for a surprisingly-good month for wireless consumers in Canada!
We may yet be able to afford to participate in the mobile Internet revolution.
-P
It was about time!!! I’m sure there’s a lot of pressure from the current cell phone companies (Bell, Telus, Rogers) to stop this process and keep things as they are. They’re just comfortable ripping off the money from everyone and offering a poor quality service.