Canada's Conservative government has announced new rules for an auction of radio airwaves.

More than 40 percent of the spectrum will be reserved for new entrants, with the remainder open to all bidders, including Canada's big three providers — Rogers, Bell and Telus. It will mean that new phone companies can enter the Canadian market, which has been ruled by only three companies for a while.

Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice gave potential newcomers, including Quebecor, MTS Allstream, Shaw and Eastlink, virtually everything they have asked for.