Yesterday, Industry Minister Christian Paradis announced the government would be lifting foreign ownership restrictions for small telecom companies ahead of the next wireless spectrum auction in the first half of 2013.
The announcement ends months of speculation and political wrangling over the rules of the auction, and years of debate over foreign ownership limits. The new rules will allow for more foreign ownership in companies that have less than 10 per cent of the wireless market share by revenue. The spectrum auction will place caps on the amount of spectrum any one player can buy up, leaving a piece of the pie for all players – big or small.
The foreign money should help new entrants to the wireless industry build out new networks and compete with incumbents. Especially since there’s an apparent lack of Canadian investors willing to put money into such a venture. Howard Solomon, lead reporter for IT World Canada, interviews chairman Anthony Lacavera about Wind Mobile’s first year of operations in this Dec. 15, 2010 video:
Anthony Lacavera on Wind Mobile’s one-year anniversary.