The wireless spectrum auction currently under way in Canada has moved to the next stage. There are four blocks of Canadian spectrum available and the Canadian government has said it wants to improve broadband access across the country.
Many Canadians pay some of the highest fees in the developed world and are perpetually entangled in contracts that are difficult to break. Others, in rural areas are still waiting for service. There is a lot of room for improvement. Now the contenders have registered and are preparing for the auction which will take place in January 2014.
Canada’s big three telecom companies, Rogers, Bell and Telus control 85% of the current spectrum and as a result, 92% of the market. During the summer there was a heated debate about the entry of American telecom company Verizon. While consumers welcomed the choice a giant US firm might bring, the big Canadian telecom companies warned of massive job losses.
In the end Verizon is not bidding in the auction, but pressure is mounting for major changes to the Canadian telecom market. Carmel Kilkenny spoke with David Christopher, the Communications Co-ordinator of Open Media.ca to hear more about the changes the citizen’s digital advocacy group thinks Canadians want and need.
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