Rogers has asked the CRTC to force Concord Pacific to let it wire two new condo projects in Burnaby, B.C., arguing the developer will only talk if Rogers pays a $300-per-unit entry fee and that its related Vancouver-based telecom company, Novus Entertainment, is getting in first.
The filing, which Rogers submitted this month, targets two multi-dwelling projects: a Kingsway site with about 1,300 units across three towers, and a smaller Barker Avenue building with roughly 300 suites. Rogers says it first asked for access in mid-2024 and has been stonewalled ever since. Concord’s line, according to Rogers, is that the Barker site “is not yet in condition where telecom installation or planning can be meaningfully accommodated,” and that Kingsway talks will wait until Barker is sorted.
Two of the Kingsway towers are expected to take residents this year, and Rogers says Novus is already marketing service for opening day. Meanwhile Rogers, and apparently Telus as well, still have no path into the buildings. Anyone who has tried to switch home internet in a new condo knows how often the “choice” is whoever got the drywall open first.
Rogers leans on long-standing CRTC rules that say carriers must get timely, non-discriminatory access to multi-dwelling buildings, including during construction, and that flat entry fees are not appropriate. The Commission has wrestled with building-wire fights before, including a Bell fibre access ruling that left consumer choice on the sidelines.
Back in 2007, after a Shaw complaint, the CRTC found Novus had given itself an undue preference in Concord buildings, noting the two companies aren’t at arm’s length since both are tied to Concord CEO Terence Hui and his family. Rogers also points to a 2015 decision with a similar finding over Shaw, and says Concord has kept the same playbook on other Metrotown-area towers.
Rogers wants Concord ordered to grant industry-standard construction access right away, and it wants Novus barred from serving either building until Rogers finishes its install or 12 months after it gets access, whichever comes first. It also wants the file handled on an expedited track. The Commission is taking comments into mid-November.
A $300-per-door fee is a lot of “welcome” money when you’re still being told to wait outside. If you are shopping a Concord tower in Burnaby, would you care who wired the risers as long as a second provider showed up before move-in?
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