In a move it says is meant to revive dwindling competition for internet services in Canada's two largest provinces, the CRTC will allow independent competitors to sell over the large telephone companies' fibre networks in Ontario and Quebec.
The national telecommunications regulator announced the interim decision Monday at the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto amid an ongoing review of third-party access to fibre networks in the hope of lowering prices for customers.
It marks a partial decision, with more hearings to come, in a review launched by the CRTC in March into the rates that smaller competitors pay the major telecom companies for access to their networks. At the time, the commission also announced it would lower some wholesale internet rates by 10 per cent.
The review, which has received more than 300 interventions, included an expedited probe of whether big carriers should provide smaller competitors with access to their fibre-to-the-home networks.
The CRTC said its review found there has been a significant competitive decline in Ontario and Quebec, where independent internet providers currently serve 47 per cent fewer customers than two years ago.
"At the same time, several competitors have been bought out by larger internet providers. This has left many Canadians with fewer options for high-speed internet services," CRTC chairwoman Vicky Eatrides said in her speech to conference attendees on Monday.
"The CRTC is acting quickly to help stabilize the market."
The decision requires large telephone companies, namely BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., to provide competitors with access to their fibre-to-the-home networks within six months. It said the delay will allow companies to prepare their networks and develop information technology and billing systems.
The CRTC said it is also setting interim rates that smaller competitors will pay for access to fibre networks, which will support both competition and continued investment in high-quality networks.
The move is meant to stabilize the market in areas where it will make a significant impact on choice and affordability for consumers, in line with Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne's direction earlier this year for the CRTC to enhance consumer rights, the regulator said.
Last week, BCE Inc. chief executive Mirko Bibic warned that if the regulator's decision in the review favoured the position of smaller players over the big companies, it would prompt Bell to slow down its fibre build plans.
"It’s as simple as that,” Bibic told analysts as the company reported its third-quarter earnings.
“That would be unfortunate because when we enter a community with fibre, we actually increase competition … The customer gets better service, better value, lower prices and that’s what’s being put at stake here with the conversation that we’re generally having in the regulatory proceedings.”
The regulator said the broader review remains ongoing, with the next public hearing set for Feb. 12, 2024.
No decisions have been made yet as to whether there will be a similar move affecting internet services in other provinces.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE, TSX:T)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
