Bell freezes retail internet rollout in Alberta, B.C., blames Telus for ‘blocked’ launch

BCE Inc. has suspended its expansion of retail internet services into Western Canada, alleging that Telus Corp. is deliberately obstructing the company’s use of the wholesale fibre access framework in the region. Bell filed an application with the CRTC on Wednesday telling the regulator that it has had to implement a “stop sell” and delay its plans to offer fibre internet service in Alberta and British Columbia. The company claims that despite the CRTC’s mandate for large carriers to provide wholesale access to their fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks, Telus has spent almost a year blocking Bell from launching service by providing “unworkable” ordering systems. Bell argues Telus is failing to comply with its own tariff and is asking the CRTC to step in and issue an interim order for Telus to fix its service. “Throughout the proceeding that led to the Commission's wholesale HSA framework, Telus took the wholly unprincipled position – which no other stakeholder supported – that it should get to take advantage of mandated wholesale access but should not be required to provide it,” writes Bell. “While the Commission ultimately rejected Telus' suggestion, Telus has consistently sought to achieve the same result through its actions.” Telus did indeed argue — despite being in favour of the overall framework — against bringing it to the West, asserting in submissions to the CRTC at the time that “the competition problem that the Commission has identified is limited to Ontario and Québec,” and “an expanded mandate may be justified” in those provinces, “but not in British Columbia and Alberta.” During the CRTC’s hearing on the matter, the company argued that it is not an incumbent “in any major centre east of Alberta.” After the policy expanded to include Telus’ incumbent territories in late 2024, the company asked for a four-month extension to implement automated ordering systems, warning that a manual launch would be a “resource-intensive, error-prone, and time-consuming” process that would “hurt the reseller experience and create friction for end users.” While the CRTC ultimately denied the extension, it decided Telus could launch access to its network with a temporary manual ordering system until June 2025, when the company said it was planning to implement its automated system. Now, one year after the wholesale mandate’s launch on Feb. 13, 2025, and eight months since Telus said it would have improved service, Bell alleges that Telus’ automated ordering system still has yet to come. “Telus’ ongoing failure to provide a workable activation and installation process has prevented Bell from launching fibre Internet services in B.C. and Alberta, limiting competition that consumers already benefit from in Ontario and Quebec,” said Robert Malcolmson, Bell’s chief legal and regulatory officer in a statement to The Wire Report. “It’s time for the CRTC to step in and ensure consumers in B.C. and Alberta benefit from greater Internet choice.” Bell’s application is the latest escalation in an ongoing conflict between the two telecom giants. Last month, Telus petitioned the CRTC for urgent relief after Bell updated its own wholesale ordering processes in Ontario and Quebec. Telus argued at the time that Bell’s updates constituted a "degradation" of service that made it impossible for Telus to effectively compete in the East. On Feb. 5, the commission ruled in favour of Telus, ordering Bell to reverse those updates to protect the integrity of the wholesale framework. Bell is seeking an identical expedited ruling against Telus, arguing that the same rationale should apply to the western market. According to Bell’s application, the ordering processes provided by Telus in the West are “vastly inferior” to the ones Bell provides to its competitors in the East. For instance, Bell alleges that while it provides wholesale customers with a real-time calendar and instant confirmation for installation appointments, Telus relies on a manual process that takes one to two business days to confirm a date. Bell further claimed that speed changes on the Telus network require a prolonged service outage for the end-user, whereas the same process on Bell’s network is “simple for Telus and seamless for the end-user.” According to Bell, there is a disparity in the success of wholesale competition between the two regions. The company took a jab at Telus’ recent request to the CRTC, stating that — although the functionality that Telus lost due to Bell’s ordering process update was said to cause “severe and ongoing harm” — the “very same day” that Bell implemented the update, “Telus successfully placed almost as many new orders for as Bell had been able to successfully install in total on Telus' network as of that date.” Bell also highlighted arguments raised by Every-Day Computers Inc. — which is currently in its own dispute with Telus over access to the incumbent’s mobile networks — during the earlier proceeding initiated by Telus. The independent wireless startup told the commission that equity does not mean Telus should receive a “Cadillac service” from Bell while providing a “broken Jalopy” to independent providers. Bell echoed the sentiment, arguing that it is "anti-competitive" for Telus to benefit from mandated access in the East while refusing to provide "workable access" in the West. The commission is being asked to issue an urgent interim order by Feb. 25 compelling Telus to provide specific automated functionality and real-time booking systems. Bell said it will file another application for final relief “in due course.” phalentm@thewirereport.ca

Bell freezes retail internet rollout in Alberta, B.C., blames Telus for ‘blocked’ launch

Regulatory |
By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
|February 13, 2026

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Bell freezes retail internet rollout in Alberta, B.C., blames Telus for ‘blocked’ launch

Regulatory | By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald |February 13, 2026

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