Two wireless-auction winners to hold

Article Excerpt

The Canadian government recently auctioned off blocks of radio frequencies, or spectrum, to several wireless providers, including Telus and Manitoba Telecom. This spectrum can travel further than other frequencies and pass through solid objects better, so it will help both firms enhance their services. However, slowing traditional telephone (or land line) demand is holding back their growth. TELUS CORP. $39 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 623.4 million; Market cap: $24.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) gets 54% of its revenue from its 7.8 million wireless subscribers across Canada. It also has 3.3 million phone customers, 1.4 million highspeed Internet users and 815,000 TV subscribers. The company spent $1.14 billion on new spectrum in the recent auction. That will let it expand its high-speed wireless network to reach 97% of Canada’s population, up from 80% now. Meanwhile, strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet continues to offset…