(Telecompaper) The Canadian government raised CAD 2.11 billion in the AWS-3 auction. Over half the frequencies in the auction were reserved for newcomers to the market, such as Wind Mobile. Wind acquired 30-MHz licences in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario for a total CAD 56.4 million, resulting in a 180 percent increase in its spectrum rights. Other winning bidders were Bell Wireless, Telus, Eastlink and Quebecor. Another auction will follow soon in April, for the 2.5GHz band.