Telecoms want federal cabinet to overturn CRTC decision on high-speed access

Most Canadian telecom players want the federal government to step in to overrule the CRTC on permitting large incumbents from selling wholesale high-speed internet service to each other. The commission decided on Friday, June 20 that it would not review and vary its initial 2024 decision. Multiple firms had asked the commission to revise the decision so that incumbents could not sell to one another. The CRTC consolidated the three applications into one proceeding. In the end, the CRTC found that there were no errors in its decision. “The final decision is already increasing Internet service competition,” the commission stated. “More than a dozen providers are using access to fibre networks at cost-based interim rates to bring competing Internet plans to market across Canada. Thousands of households now subscribe to Internet service provided using the access provided under the final decision.” One of the parties seeking the change was TekSavvy Solutions Inc. It was upset by the early morning ruling. “TekSavvy is very disappointed in today's CRTC decision. The wholesale framework has always been intended to carve out a sustainable market for small competitors like TekSavvy,” the company wrote The Wire Report in an email. “This decision undermines that by allowing giants like Bell and TELUS to misuse the competitive regime to instead dominate those markets and squeeze out independent competitors. The CRTC also leaves in place anti-consumer rules that artificially deny competitive choices for Canadians.” The competitor had previously argued that incumbent telcos should be kept out of the regime because it would stifle competition. It also disagreed with the five-year “head start” granted to new fibre builds, which allows companies to recoup the costs of their investment before they have to provide wholesale access. TekSavvy said it effectively gives incumbents “a guaranteed five-year monopoly.” Rogers Communications Inc. also sought to have the 2024 decision changed. It said the commission was continuing a failed policy that will not foster growth and competition in the industry. The telecom had previously called on the CRTC to provide a clearer explanation for why wholesale regulatory intervention is necessary, asking for evidence that shows facilities-based competition has not resulted in competitive outcomes and that mandated aggregated wholesale access will have a “substantial impact” on affordability and choice. “We urge the federal government to reverse this decision to preserve billions of dollars in planned Rogers network investments that are now at risk,” the telecom told The Wire Report. “World-class networks are the backbone of Canada’s economy, and we need policies right now that encourage investments to drive economic resiliency and competitiveness.” In Friday’s decision, the CRTC challenged arguments that incumbent access to the wholesale regime will reduce the incentive for them to invest in their networks. “If a party could effect a change in circumstances simply by making a public announcement without also providing substantive evidence demonstrating a causal link between the decision and the announcement, this would provide parties with an unsupported means to assert a change in circumstances,” the commission wrote. “In this case, there is no compelling evidence on the record to establish such a causal link,” it continued, noting that final wholesale rates — “which are key to determining the business case for future investment – have not yet been set.” Another company seeking a review and vary was Cogeco Inc. It also expressed disappointment in an email to The Wire Report. “Today, the CRTC made a terrible decision in allowing the Big Three telecoms to use regulation to get even bigger,” it stated. “The decision threatens competition, affordability, choice and investment. It will hurt consumers and the Canadian economy. We will continue to fight this decision until it’s fixed.” BCE Inc. added its voice to the dissent from the regulator’s opinion. Executive vice president and chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson issued a news release attacking Friday’s decision. He pointed out that Bell has reduced its capital expenditure outlay due to high-speed access rules and called for the government to overrule the commission. “Today's ruling underscores the need for quick action from the federal government to overturn the CRTC decision and implement policies that will unlock billions of dollars of private sector investment in critical infrastructure that will drive Canada's future economic growth,” he was quoted as saying in the release. Joining the chorus of condemnation was the Canadian Telecommunications Association. It released a statement denouncing the move. “If this decision stands, it will lead to reduced investments in network infrastructure, including in rural and remote communities, and ultimately less choice for Canadians,” president Robert Ghiz said in the news release. “The association is calling on the government of Canada to overturn the CRTC's decision and prohibit the three largest providers from reselling service over their competitors' networks.” Ghiz had already taken a jab at the wholesale regime earlier this month during the Canadian Telecom Summit, where he gave a speech calling for the rejection of “policies that encourage the largest telecom providers in Canada to become resellers instead of builders.” One voice expressing happiness with the regulator’s ruling was Telus Corp., which has been adamantly defending incumbent access to the framework. It said the fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) issue should be settled once and for all. “Today, the CRTC reaffirmed its wholesale FTTP decision for the sixth time,” spokesman Richard Gilhooley wrote The Wire Report. “Upholding the decision reinforces the independence of expert regulators, which is necessary to create the certainty needed for Canadian businesses to continue to invest with confidence.” ppark@thewirereport.ca with files from Phalen Tynes-MacDonald

Telecoms want federal cabinet to overturn CRTC decision on high-speed access

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
| June 20, 2025

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Regulatory | By Paul Park | June 20, 2025

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