2500 MHz spectrum auction raises $755M, mainly from Telus

Ottawa's latest auctioning off of Canada's wireless airwaves has raised $755 million for government coffers, the majority of which came from Telus.

• FAQ: What is wireless spectrum?

Industry Canada revealedTuesday the winners of 318 blocks of wireless spectrum in 61 regions across Canada. The auction actually ended on May 5, which was last Tuesday. The federal government is obligated to reveal the results of the auction within five business days.

The wireless spectrum up for sale was in the 2500 MHz band, which should help improve cellular transmission in dense urban environments. Ottawa also said it is ideal for providingbroadband servicein rural areas a stated goal of the current government.

Telus spent $478 million to expand its total spectrum allocation by 37 per cent, Industry Canada said. The companypicked up new spectrum airwaves in every province and territory.

The second-biggest bidder was Videotron, which spent $186 million. The company has been mulling a national wireless service, and the new spectrum blocks could theoretically help make that happen as their newly obtained blocksare in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and their home base of Quebec.

Other regional players also picked up spectrum, including Xplornet, Canada's largest provider of Internet services in rural areas,which expanded its footprint by 62 per cent across nine provinces. Other small buyers includedTBayTel, Eastlink and MTS, all of which bought more spectrum in markets where they already operate.

Wind Mobile did not purchase any new spectrum.

Rogers and Bell, meanwhile, picked up small chunks scattered across the country, spending $24 million and $29 million, respectively. Those two titans being relatively minor players may seem surprising but it was actually expected, because both companies are at ornear their maximum allowable spectrumcaps in most large markets.

Ottawa says all the spectrum sold in the auction comes with "use it or lose it" provisions, to help ensure it gets deployed within a certain timeframe. In previous auctions, the sector incumbents have been criticized for buying up spectrum and then sitting on it solely so that nobody else can use it, a process known as hoarding.