Gazette Notice DGRB-002-05

Licences Available and Results by Assessment Date

Department of Industry

Radiocommunication Act

Notice No. DGRB-002-05 — Available Personal Communications Services (PCS) spectrum in the 2 GHz frequency range

Intent

The Department wishes to inform interested parties of the availability of unassigned and returned Personal Communication Services (PCS) spectrum in several markets located throughout Canada. This announcement is an update of the available PCS spectrum identified in notice DGRB-004-03, published on November 8, 2003.

PCS spectrum currently available for licensing is listed in Appendix 1 of this document. This appendix will be updated regularly, and interested parties are encouraged to view the latest update on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Web site at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/spectrum.

Background

In December 1995, the Minister of Industry awarded PCS licences to 14 companies following a comparative licensing process: two national 30 MHz licences to two companies; a national 10 MHz licence to another company; and a national 10 MHz licence to 11 regional shareholders of one company for operating in their territories. A number of the available licences were not awarded at that time, and, recently, some of the 10 MHz regional licences have been returned to the Department.

In January 2001, the Department held an auction for PCS blocks C1, C2, C3 and E. While 52 spectrum licences were awarded using this process, PCS spectrum in a number of service areas was still available at the conclusion of the auction.

In November 2003, the Department issued a Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-004-03 to inform interested parties that it intended to license the PCS spectrum not assigned following the PCS spectrum auction process completed in 2001, either on a first-come, first-served basis (FCFS) or, where demand exceeded supply, by auction. While two companies were assigned spectrum licences through this process, some PCS spectrum remains available.

Effective April 2004, the Department implemented the transition of the cellular and incumbent PCS licences to new licensing and fee regimes based on spectrum licences and a common fee regime. Subsequent to this transition, previously licensed PCS spectrum has been returned and is once again available.

Process

In areas where there is no contention for the spectrum, the Department will use the FCFS process to assign the available spectrum.

Licences issued under an FCFS process are subject to the fees established in Notice DGRB-005-03, available at http://strategis.ic. gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08105e.html. Fees for cellular and PCS licences are based on the amount of spectrum assigned (i.e. number of MHz) and the total population of the service area. Further information on the licence fees for cellular and PCS licences can be found in CPC-2-1-10, Spectrum Licence Fee Calculations for Cellular and Incumbent Personal Communications Services (PCS) at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/ sf01291e.html.

Should the demand for PCS spectrum in a particular service area surpass the available supply, the Department will make the licences available through a competitive process. Only applications submitted before the deadlines outlined under "Application details" below will be eligible to participate in the competitive process.

All successful applicants must be eligible to become radiocommunication carriers as described in subsection 10(2) of the Radiocommunication Regulations and, as such, must meet the related ownership and control requirements (refer to CPC-2-0-15 at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf01763e. html). Furthermore, licence conditions similar to those applicable to the licences awarded through the 2 GHz PCS auction will also apply to any licence issued using either the FCFS or a competitive process. These licence conditions are available at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf05471e.html.

Application details

Interested parties are asked to submit a proposal, which must include the name and the address of the applicant, the frequency block (or portion thereof) and the service area (or portion thereof) of interest. An application form is available online, at http:// strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08094e.html.

To ensure that all applications are considered, and for the Department to be able to assess whether there is any contention for the spectrum, the Department has established four assessment dates. Applications for any of the available spectrum will be considered for licensing after the close of the assessment date following their receipt. Any spectrum not licensed after an assessment date will remain available. All PCS spectrum that is returned to the Department will be added to Appendix 1 and will be available for licensing during subsequent assessments.

The Department will assess demand for this spectrum over the next year:

First assessment date: 5: 00 p.m. EST, September 16, 2005

Second assessment date: 5:00 p.m. EST, December 16, 2005

Third assessment date: 5: 00 p.m. EST, March 17, 2006

Fourth assessment date: 5:00 p.m. EST, June 16, 2006

The Department will re-evaluate the need for an ongoing PCS licensing assessment process after June 2006.

Applications should be submitted to Industry Canada by post or by email to any of the following addresses, according to the location of the applicant or the service area sought:

Atlantic Spectrum Regional Office
1045 Main Street
4th Floor, Unit 103
Moncton, New Brunswick
E1C 1H1
spectrum.atlantic.region@ic.gc.ca

Quebec Regional Office
5 Place Ville-Marie
7th Floor
Montréal, Quebec
H3B 2G2
spectre.region.quebec@ic.gc.ca

Ontario Regional Office
151 Yonge Street
4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 2W7
spectrum-ontario-region@ic.gc.ca

Prairie and Northern Region
400 St. Mary Avenue
4th Floor
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 4K5
spectrum.winnipeg.region@ic.gc.ca

Pacific Regional Office
Library Square, Room 2000
300 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 6E1
spectrum.pacific-pacifique.region@ic.gc.ca

Obtaining copies

Copies of this notice and documents referred to therein are available electronically on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Web site at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/spectrum.

Official printed copies of Canada Gazette notices can be obtained from the Canada Gazette Web site at http://canadagazette. gc.ca/publication-e.html or by calling the sales counter of Canadian Government Publishing at (613) 941-5995 or 1-800-635-7943.

June 30, 2005

_________________________
Jan Skora
Director General
Radiocommunication and
Broadcasting Regulatory Branch

Appendix 1

The current listing of all available PCS spectrum can be found on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Web site at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/spectrum and will be updated following the completion of each assessment period identified in this notice.

A description of each service area can be found under the Service Areas for Competitive Licensing, at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/ epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/h_sf01627e.html.

Notes:

1. The minimum yearly fee is $1,000. If the licence is issued after April, it will be prorated for the month when it occurs.

2. Only the 1897.5-1900/1977.5-1980 MHz portion of block C1 is available in market area 2-14.

Frequency A: Block C1    1895-1900/1975-1980 MHz

Frequency B: Block C2    1900-1905/1980-1985 MHz

Frequency C: Block C3   1905-1910/1985-1990 MHz

Frequency D: Block E     1885-1890/1965-1970 MHz

Frequency F: Block B3    1880-1985/1960-1965 MHz

Frequency G: Block D     1865-1870/1945-1950 MHz