Quebecor, one of the winners in this year’s Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction in Canada, says it will invest as much as C$1 billion (US$928 million) over the next four years in building out its new mobile network in Quebec. However, in a statement, Quebecor said the expenditure would also cover the operating losses it is expecting to occur in the first few years following commercial launch and the cost of buying the spectrum, which it paid C$555 million (US$515 million) to acquire in the recent auction.

Quebecor’s new spectrum and network will cover its home market of Quebec but speculation is mounting that the company could join forces with other new Canadian market entrants to create a fourth national operator that is able to compete with Canada’s three large mobile operators: Rogers Wireless, Telus and Bell Mobility. The most likely candidate is Globalive Communications, which won spectrum in every part of the country apart from Quebec. Globalive CEO Anthony Lacavera said last week that the company “will reach out to everyone” regarding potential partnerships to help further its network rollout. Meanwhile, Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau told an investors conference in Toronto this week that Quebecor was “well positioned to consider any type of partnership.”