Canada’s telecommunications regulator has once again determined the country’s largest internet companies should be able to provide service to customers using fibre networks built by their rivals — as long as they are doing so outside their core regions.
It marks the CRTC's final decision on the contentious matter — which has pitted Telus Corp. against BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., along with many smaller providers — after a lengthy process filled with several interim rulings and reconsiderations.
Bell has argued against the policy, saying it discourages the major providers from investing in their own infrastructure, while some independent carriers have raised concerns that it could make it more difficult for them to compete against larger players.
Meanwhile, Telus has defended it as a way to boost competition in regions where it doesn’t have its own network infrastructure, which then improves affordability for customers.
The CRTC said in its latest decision that its rules effectively balance the need for both competition and investment, while only having a "modest" near-term effect on the market share of regional carriers.
It said it plans to continue evaluating the effect on the industry, noting there have been "early indicators of improved competitive intensity" but that the extent to which the new rules "will ultimately be successful is still unknown."
"As the framework continues to be implemented, the commission will closely monitor the relevant markets and make any adjustments necessary," it said.
The framework initially kicked in May 2024 on a limited basis, when the regulator began requiring Bell and Telus to give competitors — including both big and small companies — access to their fibre-to-the-home networks, in exchange for a fee.
While those rules initially applied only in Ontario and Quebec, the CRTC then announced last August they would be extended to networks owned by telephone companies countrywide.
But the federal government then asked the commission to reconsider whether the Big Three providers should be able to act as wholesalers under the rules, citing concern about the viability of smaller internet providers to act as alternatives. The CRTC opened a consultation into the matter and issued a temporary decision this past February that upheld the rules, while delaying a final determination until the summer.
Bell responded to the February decision by cutting $500 million in investment plans this year and slowing its fibre network build by 1.5 million locations it had intended to connect.
On Friday, Bell — along with Rogers and the Canadian Telecommunications Association — called for the federal government to overturn the regulator's decision.
"The CRTC policy will continue to have major negative impacts well into the future," Bell executive vice-president Robert Malcolmson said in a statement.
"As Bell and others have consistently warned, this policy is stalling investment, diminishing network resiliency and leaving rural, remote and Indigenous communities behind. Over the long-term, it will reduce competition as smaller internet service providers, who cannot offer the same promotions and bundles as large players, are squeezed out of the market."
Rogers spokesman Zac Carreiro said the CRTC's "misguided decision" runs counter to Ottawa's agenda "at a time when Canada needs investment to grow the economy."
"The result is the lost opportunity to create jobs and get our economy back on the right path," he said in a statement.
The Competitive Network Operators of Canada, an industry association representing independent internet providers, also called for federal intervention. Its president and chair Paul Andersen said the decision "puts the future of affordable, competitive internet for Canadians at risk."
“Without clear action from cabinet, smaller providers will exit the market, and Canadians will face higher prices and fewer choices," he said in a statement.
Other providers slammed the CRTC's ruling, including Cogeco Inc., Eastlink and TekSavvy.
Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy's vice-president of regulatory and carrier affairs, urged the CRTC to "significantly" reduce rates that wholesalers pay big companies to access their networks, "given how this decision puts dominant telecom giants head to head against independent competitors."
A report released earlier this month by the Montreal Economic Institute said forcing companies to sell access to their networks, sometimes below cost, would discourage investment in vital internet infrastructure.
"That is not a good thing for Canadians, especially as more and more of our activities depend on our access to good and reliable data services," said Renaud Brossard, a spokesman for the think tank.
"The less investment there is ... the longer it becomes to load pages, to watch videos, or in the case of large companies, to provide services to their consumers. Lower investment and lower quality networks means it's going to be slower to access these sort of things."
Telus applauded the CRTC on Friday, saying its decision "reinforces the independence of expert regulators."
The company began offering fibre service throughout Ontario and Quebec in November under the wholesale regime, saying it planned to extend its offerings to the Atlantic provinces too. Since then, it has already added thousands of customers in those regions, Telus associate general counsel Daniel Stern said in an interview earlier this month.
He dismissed concerns that standalone internet providers would be squeezed out by Telus' entrance to internet service markets where it doesn't own networks.
"If your goal is corporate welfare for small companies, then you definitely don't want Telus in," said Stern.
"If your goal is to bring competition and disciplined prices, then you want the company and suite of services that can actually go toe-to-toe with the two or three big companies that are incumbents."
Stern also disagreed that the current framework "inhibits" investment, saying Telus would "invest like crazy in our territory of Alberta and B.C." He noted the rules include limits, such as that new fibre infrastructure built by the large telecoms can't be made available to competitors for five years.
"Bell should have every incentive to invest in Ontario and Quebec and Rogers across the country," he said.
David Clement, North American affairs manager for the Consumer Choice Center, said Friday's announcement was good news for home internet customers who want improved competition.
"It means that the duopoly that exists in almost every major market can now be challenged," he said.
"Increased competition in that way allows for telecom providers to compete on price, which is incredibly important given the cost of living crisis we have in this country."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:T, TSX:RCI-B)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
