CRTC decision on wholesale internet rates expected Thursday

Canada’s telecommunications regulator will deliver a politically and commercially important decision Thursday about wholesale internet rates, which have pitted the country’s large carriers against their smaller rivals.  

Thursday’s announcement comes 21 months after the CRTC slashed many wholesale rates charged to smaller internet providers — sparking court, regulatory and political protests by phone and cable companies.

Those regional carriers, which have already been ordered to share their networks with independent internet providers, argued that the CRTC had set mandatory wholesale rates so low that they couldn’t justify new investments into rural and remote areas.

The country’s independent internet service providers say the CRTC ruling proved they’ve been overcharged at the wholesale level for years, preventing them from lowering their internet prices for homes and businesses.

BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic told a conference today that he doesn’t know what the CRTC has decided this time but takes comfort from a recent CRTC decision on sharing wireless networks.  

Bibic says he hopes the revised internet rate decision will be more favourable to BCE’s Bell Canada and other companies that build their own networks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26y, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX: BCE)

The Canadian Press