Only in statist continental Europe is privatisation not orthodoxy these days and some 53% of Telesat Mobile Inc, Canada’s only carrier licensed to provide fixed satellite services, is to come under the auctioneer’s hammer as the federal government sells off its interest. It did lay down a few provisos, however, on just who would be able to apply – in particular, it has said that foreign interests will not be able to hold more than 20% of the company overall, and that Canada’s competition watchdog would be keeping a close eye on bidders to ensure no single interest ends up with overall control. The major Canadian telephone network providers, which own the balance of the equity, are widely expected to be among the first to apply. The government had already ensured that Telesat has a strong future, since it announced last year that the company’s monopoly on satellite services, which include Canadian television transmissions as well as business data communications services, would continue for another 10 years. Telesat was established in 1969, and currently operates six satellites.
