Canada sees positive interest in spectrum auction

TORONTO, April 9 (Reuters) - There has been "very positive interest" expressed by potential bidders in the upcoming auction of Canadian airwaves over which wireless services are delivered, Industry Minister Jim Prentice said on Wednesday.

Industry Canada recently released a list of qualified bidders for the auction, which kicks off in late May. The list showed 27 entities, including market leaders BCE Inc (BCE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Telus Corp (T.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), as well as potential newcomers such as Quebecor Inc (QBRa.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (QBRb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) and Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research). (Reporting by Randall Palmer; writing by Wojtek Dabrowski; Editing by Peter Galloway)