For YEARS we’ve been at the mercy of Big Telecom for high-speed internet. They’ve been gobbling up small ISPs left and right, making it impossible for anyone that isn’t Big Telecom to compete. Let’s explain what happened, real quick.
In 2015, the CRTC ruled that you should have access to fibre internet from any choice of provider you want.1 But then, they dawdled, leaving rules in place at the time so restrictive, small ISPs couldn’t actually do it, and were forced to sell us low-speed Internet scraps. That CRTC inaction means Big Telecom has maintained a complete monopoly on the fibre Internet access to your home, ever since. That’s almost a decade head start for Big Telecom, locking smaller competitive providers out of the market entirely, and leaving your fastest Internet option subject to a complete monopoly.
The CRTC’s unfair wholesale system lets telecom giants lock all their competitors out of state-of-the-art tech like fibre. 2,3 The rules don’t let independent providers access fibre at a reasonable price, meaning they simply cannot compete against the faster connections of Big Telecom. In 2024, they FINALLY introduced some interim access; but the rates are STILL too high, only available in some regions, and ‘interim’ meaning they could go away at any time.
Enough is enough, we’re sick and tired of the CRTC’s inaction. It’s time for affordable fibre access from any provider, anywhere you want it in Canada that infrastructure exists. 4,5,6 Email the CRTC to ask them to act to get us fibre competition right here, right NOW!