Subordination of spectrum licences between Rogers Communications Canada Inc. and Bell Mobility Inc. in the Broadband Radio Service band

Decision regarding the subordinate licences

Application

1. On January 23, 2018, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) received a joint application to subordinate spectrum licences in the Broadband Radio Service (BRS) band between Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers) and Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell) to further the current Rogers/Bell Network sharing Agreement within Manitoba.

2. The subordinate licences, which are across the province of Manitoba, are described in annex A.

3. Terms not defined in this decision have the meaning set out in Client Procedures Circular CPC-2-1-23, Licensing Procedure for Spectrum Licences for Terrestrial Services.

Decision

4. The subordinate licence application from Rogers and Bell described above is approved.

Rationale

5. The acquisition of MTS by Bell comprised multiple staggered transactions including licence transfers and subordinate licensing, and revisions to the original network Agreement in Manitoba. 

6. In February 2017, the Department reviewed the revised network Agreement, and assessed and approved all of the associated transfer and subordinate transactions against the policy objectives and criteria set out in section 5.6 of CPC-2-1-23.

7. The application to subordinate licences between Rogers and Bell is consistent with the revised Agreement and forms one of the transactional elements of the approved MTS/Bell framework. 

8. Approving the subordinate licence application would have no impact on the overall spectrum holdings or distribution, or on the ability of existing and future competitors to provide services.

Annex A