The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has set interim wholesale rates for competitors to pay large telephone companies for access to their modern fiber networks. The decision will increase availability of affordable Internet services at the higher speeds Canadians expect.
Increasing Fiber Network Access
It is worth noting that Canada’s largest telephone companies – Bell Canada, Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel), and TELUS Communications Inc. (TELUS) – have the most extensive FTTH networks across Canada.
This is the latest step in implementing the CRTC’s policy to increase Internet competition in Canada. In November 2023, following an expedited process, the CRTC provided competitors with access to fiber networks in Ontario and Quebec, where competition had declined most significantly.
In that decision, the CRTC set interim rates that competitors have used to offer new options in those provinces.
In August 2024, following a comprehensive review and a week-long public hearing, the CRTC broadened the access to the large telephone companies’ fiber networks across Canada. In that decision, the CRTC required that no later than February 13, 2025, Canada’s telephone companies must provide competitors with workable wholesale access to their fiber networks.
Interim Approved Rates for Aggregated Wholesale FTTP HSA Services, Effective by October 2024
Established using the CRTC’s long-standing approach, these rates are based on a thorough analysis of detailed costing information filed by the large telephone companies. The rates reflect the actual costs of building fiber networks and will allow companies to continue investing in high-quality networks.
The rates are consistent with the ones already being used by competitors in Ontario and Quebec.
Based on the Appendix 1 to Telecom Order CRTC 2024-261, the rates are as follows for Bell Canada and TELUS:
Bell Canada:
Aggregated FTTP access rates (Ontario and Quebec)
- 3 megabits per second (Mbps) to 1500 Mbps – $68.94
- 1501 Mbps to 3000 Mbps – $78.03
Aggregated FTTN and FTTP capacity-based billing (CBB) rate (Ontario and Quebec)
- $64.24 per 100 Mbps
TELUS:
Aggregated FTTP access rate (Quebec)
- All speeds – $65.25
Aggregated FTTP CBB rate (Quebec)
- $75.86 per 100 Mbps
Read More:
Better Service Ahead: CRTC Funds Major Cell Tower Expansion Across Canada
CRTC Launches Major Fiber Internet Project to Connect Northern Quebec
CRTC to Build 1,300km of Fiber to Connect Nunavut Communities
