‘Second-classness’ in wholesale internet: Independent ISPs hope Bell-Telus dispute will prompt service standards reform

Although the dispute between Bell and Telus over how they provide wholesale services to each other has been settled, smaller competitors say they are not the only internet service providers (ISPs) struggling with the quality of service they receive. After the CRTC expanded the wholesale regime across the country and mandated BCE Inc., Telus Corp., and SaskTel to provide competitors, including each other, with access to their fibre networks, large carriers began to see what it is like on the other side of the wholesale curtain. Some independent providers argue that by becoming buyers of wholesale internet services in certain areas, incumbents have started to experience the same operational and technical barriers that smaller carriers have complained about for decades. The dispute between the two telecom giants emerged at the CRTC earlier this year when Telus accused Bell of "drastically" degrading service in Ontario and Quebec by updating its wholesale ordering process. Bell responded with its own application to the CRTC, alleging Telus was "deliberately obstructing" its launch in the West by providing "unworkable" and "vastly inferior" manual systems compared to the automated tools Bell provides in the East. Although Bell and Telus have since withdrawn their applications, independent competitors say the brief window into their frustrations highlights an underlying friction in the wholesale market requiring CRTC intervention. Telus wholesale service ‘among the worst,’ says TekSavvy Andy Kaplan-Myrth, vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs at TekSavvy Solutions Inc., said the operational issues his company faces with Telus’ network in Western Canada became so severe that — like Bell — they stopped selling services on its fibre. Although he acknowledged that Telus “isn’t alone in doing things manually,” concurring with Bell’s observations, Kaplan-Myrth argued it is “among the worst.” “And we buy wholesale services from everyone who offers them,” he added. “It's definitely true that there's a mismatch between what Bell offers wholesale customers and what Telus is offering wholesale customers.” Kaplan-Myrth noted that TekSavvy only realized the depth of the problem in November 2025 when Bell made filings to the CRTC revealing they were hitting similar roadblocks. In addition to issues with the quality of Telus’ tools, such as its customer portals, Kaplan-Myrth said TekSavvy was “struggling to consistently be able to deliver 1.5 Gbps service,” which Telus is required to provide. Telus was providing equipment that was unable to work at such speeds, he explained, leading to a series of hardware and compatibility issues. At the time, the company believed the hurdles were an isolated experience, he said, but the realization that even a giant like Bell was having issues prompted TekSavvy to put a hold on its western fibre offerings. “This is not just a bilateral thing between Bell and Telus,” said Kaplan-Myrth, characterizing it as a broader problem where the barriers Telus has are “stopping all competition for fibre in B.C. and Alberta,” a full year after the CRTC’s mandate was supposed to bring choice to those regions. However, “there are lots of barriers in wholesale” and “no carrier” spends much energy to fix them, claimed Kaplan-Myrth. He argued that this is largely because major carriers are not incentivized to do so, acknowledging — when it comes to wholesale ordering systems, for example — there is no requirement that they be automated. “I'm not sure Telus is doing anything more egregious here than any wholesale carrier does all the time,” he stated. Poor quality of service raises costs for Canadians, says CNOC There is a certain irony, said Paul Andersen, president of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), in seeing the two national incumbents experience the “second classness” — as some competitors have put it — of the services they provide. He argued that while every carrier has their own individual “quirks,” the current environment has proven that incumbents do not always understand the pain points smaller competitors have felt for years until they are forced to use those same systems. Andersen emphasized these operational issues, although “second to rates,” are not just a nuisance; they carry a significant financial burden. When a competitor does not have access to an automated ordering system and must instead rely on manual processes, they are forced to involve more staff, which increases operating costs, he explained. These inefficiencies are ultimately passed on to the consumer, undermining the CRTC’s goal of lowering internet prices through increased competition. The problem of limited choice is also being exacerbated by the decommissioning of old copper networks. Independent providers say that, as incumbents replace copper with fibre, they are being told they can no longer serve their existing customers in those neighbourhoods because either the carrier itself is exempt from the wholesale fibre mandate, or the new build has a five-year “head start” under the new rules. Andersen described this as an existential threat to independent ISPs, as their market shrinks with every new fibre deployment that lacks a functional wholesale framework. According to the CRTC and its 2024 wholesale mandate, the regulator intends to launch a proceeding on copper decommissioning issues “shortly.” In the meantime, ISPs are “expected to avoid instances where competitors could lose ,” it wrote. “Should such situations arise, the Commission is prepared to address them expeditiously on a case-by-case basis.” On March 20, the CRTC settled a recent dispute between Cogeco and TekSavvy, ordering Cogeco maintain the competitor’s access. The commission said the promised consultation “will commence in the near future.” Competitors call for CRTC to conduct quality of service study CNOC and TekSavvy are repeating calls they made during the CRTC’s hearing on the wholesale regime back in 2024, urging the regulator to consider the “bigger picture” of operational standards. Both organizations propose that the commission appoint an inquiry officer to examine quality of service issues and recommend a set of industry-wide ground rules. This inquiry would move away from the current “piecemeal” approach where carriers must file individual applications against one another to solve technical problems, said Kaplan-Myrth. Andersen argued that unless the commission puts pressure on the industry to solve these long-standing issues, they will continue to linger as they have for decades. He noted that previous attempts to resolve these problems through industry steering committees were too slow to be effective. A dedicated inquiry, he suggested, could help establish “table stakes” for what functionality and timeframes a service provider should expect when buying wholesale access. The dispute between Bell and Telus may be over, but it reflects how the dynamics of the wholesale regime have shifted, noted the CNOC and TekSavvy officials. For the first time, large carriers have “skin in the game” when it comes to the quality of wholesale services, said Kaplan-Myrth. “I don't know if the old patterns will still repeat if now we're talking about large carriers who are actually interested in better wholesale tools, better response timelines, and better operational processes,” he said, expressing hope that this new reality might create an opportunity for the industry to agree on better standards. He cautioned, however, that smaller competitors must not be left out of those discussions, as “there's always a fear that large carriers may just agree on certain standards, or certain services, and then impose them on smaller providers, whereas we're actually the ones with years of experience identifying and struggling with these barriers.” phalentm@thewirereport.ca

‘Second-classness’ in wholesale internet: Independent ISPs hope Bell-Telus dispute will prompt service standards reform

Regulatory |
By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
|March 24, 2026

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