Industry Minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne said he will not approve the proposed deal between Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., though he left the door open to a revised agreement.

The $26-billion proposed merger would have meant the wholesale transfer of wireless spectrum licences from Shaw to Rogers, which requires ChampagneB次元官网网址檚 approval.

B次元官网网址淭oday, I officially denied that request,B次元官网网址� he said Tuesday evening. B次元官网网址淢y decision formally closes that chapter of the original proposed transaction.B次元官网网址�

ShawB次元官网网址檚 ownership of Freedom Mobile has widely been seen as the main obstacle to the dealB次元官网网址檚 approval, and Montreal-based B次元官网网址tron earlier this year agreed to buy it for $2.85 billion.

But Champagne says before he would approve the B次元官网网址tron deal, he needs two specific concessions.

He says B次元官网网址tron would have to agree to keep the Freedom wireless licences for at least 10 years.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want someone to flip these licences, we want them to be in it for the long term,B次元官网网址� he said.

Secondly, he said he would B次元官网网址渆xpect to seeB次元官网网址� wireless prices in Ontario and Western Canada lowered by about 20 per cent, putting them in line with B次元官网网址tronB次元官网网址檚 current Quebec offerings.

Champagne did not make clear whether a successful sale of Freedom Mobile would mean the Rogers-Shaw deal might still be approved. He said his conditions for FreedomB次元官网网址檚 licence transfer were clear.

B次元官网网址淭here is a chapter that is closed B次元官网网址� Shaw-Rogers, thatB次元官网网址檚 closed. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a new chapter opening.B次元官网网址�

As well as ChampagneB次元官网网址檚 approval, the Rogers-Shaw deal required a green light from the Competition Commissioner and the CRTC.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission offered its conditional approval for the broadcasting portion of the deal in March.

A mediation is scheduled for later this week between the Competition Commissioner and Rogers and Shaw. The Competition Bureau is attempting to block the merger, saying that the sale of Freedom Mobile does not go far enough to eliminate its concerns that telecom bills would increase amid reduced competition.

ChampagneB次元官网网址檚 approval is required for any spectrum licence transfer.