Bell has appealed a ruling that would require large telecom companies in Canada to sell wholesale access to their fiber networks to independent ISPs, arguing these smaller ISPs should just build their own fiber networks.
According to a report Monday by the CBC, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) made the ruling in July in order to enable independent ISPs to offer competing Internet packages, providing more choice for Canadian consumers.
Bell is appealing the ruling to the CRTC and directly to cabinet via a petition to the Governor in Council, the CBC said, and has threatened to scale back its planned fiber installations if the ruling stands.
Bell launched its Gigabit Internet service to more than a million households in Ontario and Quebec in August, offering download speeds of up to 940 megabits per second.
Bell maintains that as part of the business case for fiber, it needs to sell TV and home phone services. Currently Bell sells its Gigabit Fibe service for $142.85 per month, but customers get price breaks if they also pay for Fibe TV.
Under the CRTC ruling, independent ISPs will pay a single wholesale fee for customer. Though those prices haven’t been set yet, Bell expects them to be lower than the prices it charges retail customers.
Bell said in its petition that “it is impossible for the CRTC to set a wholesale rate that adequately compensates those who invest in fibre-to-the-home networks for their investments.”
Bell argues that independent ISPs should just build their own fiber networks.
Bill Sandiford, president and CEO of the Canadian Network Operators’ Consortium said in an editorial in the Globe and Mail that it would cost independent ISPs far more to build a national fiber infrastructure since they haven’t enjoyed the same “taxpayer subsidies and protection for competition.”
Consumers are getting tired of waiting for big telecom providers to expand fiber networks. In the US, some communities are partnering with Internet services companies like Ting to launch municipally-owned broadband.