Auction Day 37: SaskTel and Bragg on track to control home territories

SaskTel and Bragg Communications may want to start chilling that Champaign. Yesterday, the two companies gained solid control over their home territories of Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada, following a surprisingly active day of bidding in a spectrum auction that has turned into an endurance competition for its remaining bidders.Bragg's firm grip on the Maritimes didn't come easily. The EastLink owner faced a tough battle with Globalive Communications that intensified on Wednesday afternoon and continued into Thursday. It all started in Round 300 when Bragg bid on the 10 MHz C-band Alberta licence, while Globalive sought key parts of Atlantic Canada.By the end of Thurdsay, Bragg appeared the victor, solidifying its control of Atlantic Canada with a full 30 MHz covering the entire region and an additional 20 MHz in West New Brunswick. The company is also vying for another 20 MHz in Cape Breton.Thursday was a metaphorical reversal of fortunes for Saskatchewan's provincial telco. Two days after seemingly giving up on acquiring an additional 20 MHz of spectrum in Moose Jaw, SaskTel has found itself in control of 30 MHz covering the entire provincial boundaries. The Crown corp is also fighting for an additional 20 MHz of bandwidth in Regina.However, in the law of physics, with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And SaskTel's success came at the expense of Shaw Communications. While the two companies weren't bidding against each other today, Globalive was forced to take on Shaw for the Regina, Moose Jaw and Saskatoon licences in the E-band 10 MHz band.Overall, Thursday was one of the most active in recent days and Round 309 saw 14 new bids placed on 11 licences. That round saw incumbent wireless operators and new entrant wannabes alike trying to fill out their portfolio of spectrum licences. Globalive was the most active in trying to secure bandwidth in the Cornwall to Belleville, Ont. corridor.Despite the high level of activity, total standing high bids actually decreased by about $12 million. Thursday was also marked by large drops in total auction at two points during the day. Round 308 saw SaskTel withdraw its standing high bid of $31.5 million on the Saskatoon 20 MHz A-band licence and then after taking control of this same licence Telus Mobility withdrew its bid for the same amount in Round 315.Total standing high bids topped $4.247 billion in Round 313, but then finished the day off at $4.221 billion.

Auction Day 37: SaskTel and Bragg on track to control home territories

News | 07/18/2008 1:34 pm EDT

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