The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that a federal auction for 5G wireless licences has netted $2.16-billion for Ottawa, less than a third of the proceeds from the previous auction for similar spectrum. The Globe's Alexandra Posadski writes that Telus shelled out the most, spending $619.6-million, while BCE's Bell Mobility spent $518-million and Rogers paid $474.8-million. The wireless licences are for exclusive rights to airwaves in specific geographic areas in the 3,800-megahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which are key bands for 5G services because they are able to carry larger volumes of data over long distances. In total, 4,099 licences were awarded to 20 bidders after 98 rounds of bidding that occurred over the course of 21 days. Quebecor's Videotron, which has been expanding beyond its home province of Quebec since acquiring Shaw's Freedom Mobile, spent $298.9-million, buying up 305 licences in multiple provinces including Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. Cogeco Communications, which has been looking to launch a wireless business under the new wireless wholesale regime, spent $190.3-million on 99 licences, including in the Greater Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa regions.