The CRTC has ruled that smaller cellphone providers must get access to the entire network that Bell and Telus share, instead of being stuck with only half of it.
Until now, when regional carriers like Freedom Mobile, Videotron, or Eastlink signed roaming agreements with either Bell or Telus, they were limited to that company’s portion of the shared network. The regulator said this setup wasn’t fair.
“The Commission considers that the shared network is effectively one national network and results in both carriers being national wireless carriers,” the decision stated.
With this ruling, if a regional provider signs with either Bell or Telus, they’ll now get full access. The CRTC explained that blocking access would “raise concerns of undue preference and unjust discrimination.”
Bell and Telus opposed the move, saying it could cause problems. Telus argued that access to both networks through a single deal could “distort market dynamics and weaken network expansion,” while Bell said that forcing changes would “interfere with highly complex, confidential, and competitively sensitive network-sharing agreements.”
On the other side, carriers like Eastlink, Videotron, and Cogeco supported the change. They told the CRTC there were “no technical or operational reasons to exclude the shared network from Bell Mobility and Telus’s roaming footprint.”
The CRTC ultimately sided with the smaller providers, saying the change will help competition. It wrote on September 18 that giving regional carriers full access “could lead to lower wholesale roaming rates” and “reduce administrative costs.”
Bell and Telus now have 30 days to file updated roaming rules that reflect the decision.
For everyday Canadians, this means smaller carriers will be in a better position to compete nationwide. If that competition heats up, it could eventually push wireless prices down.
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Bring it on.
This is exciting news! I'm happy to be with Freedom Mobile and can't wait to see The improvements this has!
This is why the Government should own the telecom infrastructure in Canada and rent it to the Telecom providers
I don't disagree, but are we all ready to pay a lot more in taxes to cover the purchase of existing infrastructure from the major telecoms, and then subsequent costs to expand and maintain that purchase?
If the price is set fairly (i.e. neither excessively high nor ridiculously low) then there should be no extra taxes needed. The purchase could be financed and the fee charged to providers could both pay off the financing and cover expansion and maintenance. When the financing is paid off discounts could be offered to companies who keep their prices competitively low.
That is what the lease payments the Telecom’s should be doing! They rent the infrastructure and pay the Gov to update it.. it would give the Gov more power to say who can use it and by that allow for more competition to enter the market! It’s not perfect, but it will stop the Telecom’s from running our environment and cause them to follow the rules “or else!”
Of Course bell and telus dont want to share, oligopolies don't like to lose money although they already extort Canadians due to lack.of competition. It's about time.
Funny how Telus is now so concerned about the impact of network expansion, yet they had no issues stepping all over that argument when it came to wireline internet infrastructure.
The amount of tax breaks and subsidies that Canada has given the incumbents over the last century should actually mean something tangible to the average consumer. That being said I feel this story is far from over. It's never over with Bell, Telus and Rogers.