BC Business
Telus | BCBusiness
High-frequency auctioningAnother wireless spectrum auction is underway starting Tuesday—essentially, the federal government is auctioning off airwaves to telecom companies—and due to regulatory hurdles hamstringing Rogers and Bell, Telus is likely to win big in the coming days. This particular band of high-frequency spectrum, 2,500 MHz, carries more information quicker thanks to its shorter wavelengths and is therefore ideal for faster downloads and streaming video; conversely, while faster, it doesn’t travel as far as lower-frequency spectrum. (High school science class all over again, I know.) Perhaps surprisingly, then, 2,500 MHz spectrum is also used in rural areas—by internet providers when wired connections are unavailable.
In any event, Rogers and Telus already have their share in key markets, or so says the government, which restricts bidders based on how much spectrum they already operate. “As Telus has no 2,500 MHz spectrum at this time, we assume that it will win in all major markets,” Canaccord analyst David Ghose told the CBC. Toronto-based Wind Mobile could also gain a fair share of 2,500 MHz spectrum in cities like Vancouver, its second biggest market. These auctions generally take a few days to complete.
Bond, dam bondB.C. is considering selling “green” bonds to raise money for the $8.8-billion Site C dam project, according to a report in Bloomberg. Finance Minister Mike de Jong, who referred to Site C as a “very large green project,” told the news organization he’s in talks with various fund managers and that bonds could be issued as soon as this year.
Don’t go chasing waterfalls (just buy them bottled instead)The Vancouver Park Board will not ban bottled water, the idea for which was voted down by the board this week. Perhaps as a compromise, the park board passed a motion to investigate the possibility of adding more water fountains.