Ottawa – The CRTC will hold a public hearing in February 2024 as part of its ongoing review to increase competition, choice and affordability of high-speed Internet. This could affect five million households.
From the CRTC release: In March 2023, the CRTC announced a major public proceeding to improve Internet services competition. As part of the proceeding, the CRTC launched an expedited process to determine whether competitors should be able to access the fibre-to-the-home networks of large telephone and cable companies on an interim basis. Today’s initial decision is the result of that expedited process.
The record of the proceeding, which includes over 300 interventions, shows that competition in the Internet services market is declining. In recent years, the percentage of customers served by competitors has decreased dramatically. This decrease is most significant in Ontario and Quebec, where independent competitors now serve 47% fewer customers than they did just 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.
Based on this record, the CRTC is acting quickly to help stabilize the market. On a temporary and expedited basis, the CRTC is providing competitors with a workable way to sell Internet services using the fibre-to-the-home networks of large telephone companies in Ontario and Quebec, where competition has declined most significantly. The CRTC is also setting the interim rates that competitors will pay when selling services over these fibre-to-the-home networks. These rates were chosen to allow Canada’s large Internet companies to continue investing in their networks to deliver high-quality services to Canadians.
The November 6 initial decision aligns with the government’s policy direction that requires the CRTC to foster Internet services competition, and to conduct proceedings and issue decisions in a timely manner. The CRTC is continuing to work on this proceeding and looks forward to a public hearing that will start on February 12, 2024.
