{"id":51122,"date":"2025-08-07T03:49:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T03:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/51122\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T03:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T03:49:08","slug":"ottawa-upholds-crtcs-wholesale-internet-rules-says-they-will-foster-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/51122\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa upholds CRTC\u2019s wholesale internet rules, says they will foster competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly says in a statement the CRTC\u2019s ruling ‘will immediately allow for more competition on existing networks for high-speed internet services across the country.’Nathan Denette\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Ottawa says it will uphold a ruling by Canada\u2019s telecommunications regulator allowing the country\u2019s largest internet companies to provide service to customers using fibre networks built by their rivals \u2013 as long as they do so outside their core regions.<\/p>\n

Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly said in a statement Wednesday evening that the CRTC\u2019s policy \u201cwill immediately allow for more competition on existing networks for high-speed internet services across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir decision to uphold the mandatory wholesale access framework was based on extensive consultation with experts, the Competition Bureau and over 300 public submissions,\u201d Joly said in the statement, posted on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo that end, the government is declining to alter the CRTC\u2019s decision to expand mandatory wholesale access.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, the regulator issued its final decision on the contentious matter, which has pitted Telus Corp. T-T<\/a> against rivals Bell Canada BCE-T<\/a> and Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T<\/a>, and many smaller providers that opposed the framework.<\/p>\n

Bell<\/a> had argued against the policy, saying it discourages the major providers from investing in their own infrastructure, while some independent carriers raised concerns that it would make it more difficult for them to compete against larger players.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Ottawa should reverse the CRTC\u2019s decision on wholesale internet access<\/a><\/p>\n

Telus had defended it as a way to boost competition in regions where it doesn\u2019t have its own network infrastructure, which then improves affordability for customers.<\/p>\n

A previous version of the framework initially kicked in May 2024 on a limited basis, when the regulator began requiring Bell and Telus to give competitors \u2013 including both big and small companies \u2013 access to their fibre-to-the-home networks, in exchange for a fee.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The CRTC chose to apply the policy only to existing fibre networks, in recognition \u201cthat building out fibre is expensive.\u201d Any new fibre infrastructure built by the large telecoms can\u2019t be made available to competitors for five years.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The CRTC opened a consultation into the matter and issued a temporary decision this past February that upheld the policy, while continuing its review.<\/p>\n

In June, the CRTC said it determined its framework effectively balances the need for both competition and investment, while only having a \u201cmodest\u201d near-term effect on the market share of regional carriers.<\/p>\n

Ottawa had until Aug. 13 to uphold or alter the CRTC\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Ottawa must stop the CRTC\u2019s misguided, dogmatic internet decision<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBy immediately increasing competition and consumer choice, the CRTC\u2019s decision aims to reduce the cost of high-speed internet for Canadians and will contribute toward our broader mandate to bring down costs across the board,\u201d Joly said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Bell, along with Rogers and the Canadian Telecommunications Association, had called for the federal government to overturn the regulator\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Telus began offering fibre internet service throughout Ontario and Quebec last November under the wholesale regime, saying it planned to extend its offerings to the Atlantic provinces too.<\/p>\n

Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle commended the federal government\u2019s decision, calling it \u201ca landmark ruling that reinforces Canada\u2019s commitment to competition, choice, innovation and nation-building infrastructure investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, the company announced it would spend $2-billion to deliver broadband services across Ontario and Quebec over the next five years \u2013 an investment it attributed to the CRTC\u2019s wholesale fibre framework.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision affirms that public policy in our country is guided by due process, a national diversity of voices, evidence and the long-term interests of Canadians,\u201d Entwistle said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sends a strong signal to consumers, businesses and investors that the Canadian regulatory system is robust, transparent and effective in balancing the needs of stakeholders, and enabling government policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly says in a statement the CRTC\u2019s ruling ‘will immediately…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,244,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-51122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-internet","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-internet","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}