Canadians have mobile networks that are 4G LTE enabled, but said networks are using AWS spectrum, meaning spectrum in the 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz bands. There’s nothing wrong with AWS spectrum, but there’s something special about spectrum in the sub 1 GHz range. It penetrates walls easier, so you get better signal coverage inside your home, your office, and at the mall; it also travels farther, so you need less towers to cover a specific geographic area. America knows this, so they had an auction for spectrum in the 700 MHz band way back in early 2008. Today both Verizon and AT&T have fully operational 4G LTE networks, with the former having a significantly larger footprint. America’s hat, more commonly known as Canada, is also looking to jump in on the 700 MHz game, and the government there has just announced that they’ll be holding a spectrum auction in early 2013. There will be four blocks of spectrum available, one of which will only be available to smaller operators.
Speaking about smaller operators, the Canadian government has also tweaked their laws regarding foreign ownership of wireless companies. Until now foreign operators could hold only a 46.7% share of a company. That restriction is now gone, but there’s still a catch. If you as a foreign company want a share larger than 46.7%, said company can’t have a market share larger than 10%. In other words, Canada’s government wants Canadian companies to have some competition, but not enough to get off their lazy asses.
That’s the real meat and potatoes issue here, Canada’s wireless operators make America’s operators look like angels from heaven. Up north they have 3 year contracts, stupid high prices, and coverage is spotty because people are spread out across a vast amount of land. Foreigners can come and try to fix things, but there’s a hard limit as to how big they can get.
What kind of BS is that?
[Via: The Verge]