Ottawa upholds CRTC’s wholesale internet rules, says they will foster competition

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Ottawa says it will uphold a ruling by Canada’s telecommunications regulator allowing the country’s largest internet companies to provide service to customers using fibre networks built by their rivals — as long as they do so outside their core regions.

Industry Minister Melanie Joly says in a statement the CRTC’s ruling “will immediately allow for more competition on existing networks for high-speed internet services across the country.”

In June, the regulator issued its final decision on the contentious matter, which has pitted Telus Corp. against rivals BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., and many smaller providers that opposed the framework.

The federal government had previously 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.

Ottawa had until Aug. 13 to overturn the CRTC’s ruling, but Joly says she decided not to alter the CRTC’s decision as it “was based on extensive consultation with experts, the Competition Bureau and over 300 public submissions.”

The CRTC has said the 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.

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