May 27, 2021 – Gatineau – Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
Today, the CRTC set the final rates to access the large companies’ high-speed broadband networks and resolved a long-standing dispute with respect to the existing wholesale model. This will enable the industry to move towards a new wholesale model that will increase competition and investments. This new model is intended to provide Canadians with more choice, better prices and innovative services.
The existing model, which is an aggregated high-speed access service, is in the process of transitioning to a disaggregated high-speed access service. This will enable competitors to access the fibre-to-the-home networks of the large companies and offer their customers faster Internet speeds and more services for all Canadians.
Under the aggregated model, a competitor connects its network to a smaller number of points in the large company’s network. Under the disaggregated model, competitors connect to numerous points in the large company’s network thereby reducing their reliance on expensive transport costs while spurring investments in broadband networks.
During the review of wholesale rates for aggregated high-speed access services, the information provided on the record caused the CRTC to doubt the correctness of certain aspects of its August 2019 decision. With this decision the CRTC is adopting the interim rates, with adjustments, as the final rates.
Quotes
“Since 2016, the CRTC’s objective has been to complete the transition to a disaggregated wholesale model for access to the large companies’ high-speed broadband networks. This model will foster greater competition and further investments, so that the industry can better serve the needs of Canadians. Today’s decision will allow us to focus on that goal, while providing certainty in the marketplace for Internet service providers.”
- Ian Scott, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, CRTC
Quick facts
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An advantage of the disaggregated model is that it includes access to a large company’s fibre-to-the-home networks, thereby allowing competitors to provide higher speeds to their customers.
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This will also grant them more flexibility in how they offer services to Canadians, while encouraging them to invest in their own network infrastructure.
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The wholesale rates are paid by competitors to access large companies’ high-speed access networks in order to provide various services to their own customers, such as Internet, television or telephone services. This helps smaller providers who do not own high-speed access networks to provide services to Canadians.
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In 2015, the CRTC decided that the aggregated wholesale high-speed access service would no longer be required and be phased out when the disaggregated wholesale high-speed access service is implemented.