The Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA)—the industry group representing the likes of Bell and Rogers—wants Canadians to believe that letting these telecom giants resell internet access on competitor networks will hurt investment, stall network upgrades, and slow down rural expansion.
In a recent op-ed published in The Hill Times on June 11, association president Robert Ghiz (former Premier of Prince Edward Island from 2007–2015) argued that Canada should prevent Bell, Telus, and Rogers from acting as resellers under the country’s wholesale internet access rules. To clarify: the CTA does not oppose wholesale access altogether—it supports smaller competitors being able to lease access to incumbent networks. What it opposes is allowing the Big Three to resell service on each other’s infrastructure, which the Association says could tilt the economics away from network building and hurt smaller providers.
According to Ghiz, “This policy tilts the economics of network investment away from building and toward resale,” and could reduce investment in rural and remote areas. He emphasized that in 2024 alone, telecom companies invested more than $12 billion—or 18% of their revenues—into capital projects, a higher share than counterparts in countries like the U.S., U.K., or Australia.
The message is clear: Canada’s telecom lobby wants the public—and regulators—to believe that competition through infrastructure investment is better than competition through shared access.
Ghiz also cited a PwC report claiming that inflation-adjusted mobile and internet prices have dropped by up to 70% and 45% since 2020, suggesting that market competition is already delivering benefits without the need for stricter regulation.
But that argument ignores years of criticism from consumer advocates who say Canada’s telecom market remains one of the most concentrated and expensive in the world. The “facilities-based competition” model—where only those who build infrastructure can compete—has long been seen as shielding dominant players from meaningful disruption.
While the op-ed focuses on preserving incentives to build, critics argue the industry remains wary of wholesale policies that might meaningfully open the door to broader retail competition.
Update – June 19, 2025: A Telus spokesperson told iPhone in Canada the company is not a member of the CTA (since 2013) and takes a different view from Bell and Rogers. “Telus is not a member of the CTA, and we are not opposed to Bell, Rogers and Telus being able to wholesale — in fact, we are very much in favour of it. Also, we haven’t threatened to suspend investment, rather we are committed to continue to invest in our fibre networks in BC, Alberta and Eastern Quebec,” said the spokesperson.
Update 2: This article has been updated to correct the CTA’s position, following a request from the Association.
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The telecom mafia never disappoints!
There is conpetition and prices have dropped mainly because of Freedom Mobile! If the government didn't force the Big 3 to share their network with Freedom, we wouldn't have seen prices drop. The Big 3 always use the same scare tactics, that they will stop investments. While they may delay and slow them down, they won't stop investing in networks all together, their business depends on it! To the CRTC, go one step further and allow MVNO's in Canada without any networks, like most of the world already allows!
This is a joke. They all own smaller fake name like virgin, koodo ect and resell on this already so there no reason to not allow all to share. The alternative would be that the big 3 should have 0 stake or ownership in any possible way into the providers that can access the share. Otherwise this is just smoke.
As someone who is rural,and not in middle of the wilderness. 10 minutes from the province's largest city.
I can say with complete certainty, they don't care about us, they haven't upgraded the old copper lines in my area that are degrading to the point that DSL doesn't even work.
Go ahead and pull back on investments because others are going to eat your lunch. I have a been a Starlink customer since it was in beta and I would not look back, especially since Gigabit speeds are not far off. Plus if I need to change my hardware configuration, I don't need to call for an appointment to wait from 8-12 or 1-5 and they not even show up. I can do it myself.
I will be so happy to see these clowns lose market share and cry about it. We won't forget.
Investment in what? Their own pockets?
A new player is starting to install fibre to the home in the Oakville region. As bell and Rogers act like big bratty babies, it's just leaving the front door wide open for others to get into the game.
i don't get their logic anyway. If they lay the fibre down and the consumer's choose the other guys for their service, it's just sitting there dormant not generating revenue. They wholesale their lines so other service providers uses it, then the consumers, no matter who they choose to go with, is using those lines anyway, always generating revenue for the installing company.
Its not rocket science.
Bell and Rogers: if the idea of real wholesale access scares you, go fly a copper kite in a lightning storm. Your monopoly-era business model should have been buried decades ago. Canadians still face some of the highest wireless prices in the developed world, and the CRTC must finally prove it has a spine and put you in the ground. Sincerely, an angry Canadian who has put up with your BS for long enough.
Reader, don’t believe me? Here’s what the CRTC itself says in the 2025 Canadian Telecommunications Market Report (section 5.2, Competition):
“The metrics point to a high concentration of revenue and subscriber market share held by the three largest operators.”
“The Top 3 operators … earned nearly 90 % of retail mobile-phone revenues.”
“Combined, the Top 3 operators increased their subscriber market share to 86.9 % in 2023.”
“The three largest operators account for more than 90% of wireless EBITDA.”
“The MVNO framework … could help smaller regional operators expand … and compete with larger operators.”
These are the regulator’s own words – proof that Canada’s wireless market is still dominated by an entrenched trio, despite their complaints about wholesale access.
People want fairness and decent pricing
Corporations want profit and power
It's clear who is having their way
Encourage US based telecoms to compete in Canada. That would lower rates for sure.
It's time for change telecom prices have been ridiculous for too long. If they want to stifle their business go right ahead but we need competition in a country where there literally isn't any. We have a 3-way monopoly.