NHL fans to benefit from 700MHz spectrum auction

Rogers is the only company to secure two 12MHz blocks of contiguous, paired 700MHz lower band spectrum in virtually every major market across Canada, securing twice as much contiguous spectrum as the competition. This is an advantage because the two contiguous blocks can be combined to deliver consistently fast downloads and uninterrupted video streaming in more places than ever before. Which is apparently great news for hockey fans watching their favourite players and teams on mobile devices.

"We went into this auction with a clear plan to win the best spectrum for our customers. There is clear demand for the ultimate video experience and it will be a big part of how we bring the NHL to hockey fans," said Guy Laurence, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Recent studies show the amount of video watched on smartphones and tablets has grown by more than 700%, since 2011and sports is a significant share. Rogers data shows there was a 50 percent spike in traffic during the final men's Olympic hockey games as Rogers customers tuned in to catch all the action live on their phones and tablets.

nvesting in this prime real estate builds on Rogers' multi-band 4G LTE spectrum strategy, which already uses both the AWS and 2600MHz spectrum bands.  Rogers existing 4G LTE network has already been proven to deliver the fastest broadband wireless speeds in Canada. The new 700MHz spectrum means our customers' devices will now be served on the fastest LTE network in even more places in both urban and rural markets.

Rogers customers will be able to use their existing LTE devices as soon as the new spectrum is deployed, which will begin during 2014.

Source: Rogers