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Still, he said all applications for licence transfers “will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and decisions will be issued publicly to increase transparency.”

“Our government will continue to put consumers first,” he said. “We will continue to promote a stronger, competitive wireless sector that allows Canadians access to the latest technologies at affordable prices.”

Mr. Paradis re-emphasized the government’s goal to have at least four wireless competitors in every region of Canada.

“I will not hesitate to use any and every tool at my disposal to support greater competition in the market.”

Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president federal government and regulatory affairs at Telus, said the company would not challenge the government’s decision but would take some time to determine next steps.

“We’re disappointed. We worked hard to try and sort out something for the 250,000 customers and 150 employees of Mobilicity and the bondholders,” said Mr. Woodhead. “So those people are all in considerable uncertainty at the moment.”

Mr. Woodhead noted that Mobilicity has two plans of arrangement in place that an Ontario court has approved it to pursue: One is a Telus-type transaction that involves selling the business and the other is to conduct a restructuring.

“We’ll look at our options, Mobilicity will look at their options and we’ll proceed from there. Beyond that I can’t really speculate,” he said.

Mobilicity president and chief operating officer Stewart Lyons said Tuesday the company was reviewing the Industry Canada announcement.