Canada’s industry minister Christian Paradis has encouraged international telcos to invest in his country’s wireless market, the Globe and Mail reported.
Paradis said smaller operators needed fresh capital to keep the sector competitive, adding that…
Canada’s industry minister Christian Paradis has encouraged international telcos to invest in his country’s wireless market, the Globe and Mail reported.
Paradis said smaller operators needed fresh capital to keep the sector competitive, adding that there should be four players in each of Canada’s regions.
Canada’s mobile market is currently dominated by Bell, Rogers and Telus, but the government has taken steps to increase competition.
Last summer the Telecommunications Act was amended to allow non-Canadians to buy up to 100% of telcos that have a market share of 10% or less by revenue. VimpelCom has increased its stake in Wind Mobile to take control of it, but significant foreign investment in other challenger telcos is yet to materialise.
Operators MTS Allstream and TeraGo launched strategic reviews last September in light of the change in the law. So far neither has received any investments from abroad.
There will also be a new auction of spectrum. In his speech Paradis confirmed that the tender of the 700MHz band would take place towards the end of the year. Previous auctions of frequencies in the country have seen licences set aside for new players.
