The silence surrounding the 700MHz auction is over: In just a couple of days, we will find out the results of the key event which will mark the Canadian wireless landscape this year, the Financial Post has learned.
Three different sources have revealed to the newspaper that the government has completed the 700MHz auction, and it is checking the legitimacy of the results. The announcement should come out in a couple of days, likely meaning Wednesday afternoon, but no later than Thursday.
Although the information regarding the end date of the auction doesn’t match when comparing the sources — one says it ended last week, the other said it was near completion (but not quite completed yet) last week — they all seem to agree that the official results are to come in just a matter of days.
The government’s position, however, is clear: Since they don’t have anything to announce at this point (meaning today), the information leaked to the Financial Post is just speculation.
You may recall that the 700MHz spectrum is valuable due to its ability to carry a signal over long distances and penetrate buildings. Fifteen players interested in acquiring such spectrum registered for the auction, but only 10 remained when the actual auction kicked off on January 14, 2014. We are eager to see the results.
