The CRTC will continue to let the big three telecom companies piggyback on each other’s fibre-optic networks to sell high-speed internet and other services outside of their traditional territory, despite complaints that the move could put small competitors out of business.
The commission made the announcement late Monday afternoon, issuing a release that said it will continue to allow access to the big three — Rogers, Telus, and Bell — after completing a request by the federal government to reconsider its initial decision.
The CRTC said in the statement that the public interest would not be advanced by changing the temporary decision made in November 2023. That ruling gave companies mandatory access to existing fibre-optic networks in Ontario and Quebec, no matter who built them, to increase competition.
The CRTC released its final decision in August 2024, broadening mandatory wholesale access to networks across Canada. Bell Canada and independent and regional providers complained that the access could reduce competition as well as investment in broadband.
“The evidence on the public record shows that consumer benefits brought about by Large Incumbent access (Rogers, Telus and Bell) … outweighed any impact that access had on investment,” according to the statement by the CRTC.
Telus, which has built fibre-optic networks in Alberta and British Columbia but not Eastern Canada, began selling high-speed fibre optic internet service in Ontario and Quebec in May, paying a wholesale price per customer to use a competitor’s network.
On Monday, Richard Gilhooley, the company’s director of public affairs, said in an email to the Star that the CRTC’s most recent “decision marks a significant step toward fostering greater competition, affordability, and innovation for millions of Canadians.”
But small internet providers say they won’t be able to compete if the big three can access each others networks and offer more services at a better price.
“We’re concerned that smaller players who’ve already been hampered by the delays in getting access to fibre will slowly be eliminated,” said Paul Andersen, chair of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, which represents independent providers of network services. He notes that large companies can bundle services together, such as wireless and internet, and undercut smaller Internet-only companies.
Having completed its reconsideration of the temporary decision, the CRTC said in its statement Monday that it had received applications to review its final decision, which opened mandatory access to fibre-optic networks not just in Ontario and Quebec but throughout Canada. The CRTC said it will complete that review by the summer of 2025.
Cogeco, a regional telecommunications company and internet provider, said in an email to the Star that it was “disappointed that the CRTC continues to delay its final decision on the future of the Canadian wholesale regime.
“At a time of growing economic uncertainty, Canada cannot afford inaction on policies that directly impact competition and consumer choice,” said Cogeco in the email.
“Now more than ever, we need swift and decisive measures to ensure that regional players, like Cogeco, can continue providing Canadians with more choice and better services. The Commission must act more quickly in closing this loophole.”
