Paul Andersen is President of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, representing local and regional independent service providers across Canada.
Canadians have found themselves paying more for everything these days. Just last week, U.S. streaming giant Netflix announced it will be increasing prices by 14% — much more than inflation.
Unfortunately it isn’t just your streaming service fees that will see higher prices. The internet you use to stream your favourite shows and videos might also get more expensive.
Right now, the future of internet competition in Canada is being decided by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The CRTC has already taken steps to open up access to internet service by requiring companies that have fibre optic networks to provide wholesale access to other retailers.
On the surface, this seems great. Independent companies based in and outside of Western Canada can help bring down prices and offer more choice. Western companies like Babbl, Lightspeed, and CanCom are keen to compete with the telco giants and bring more options to internet users.
But when the CRTC decided to open up wholesale access to these networks, it did not take the important step of preventing the Big Three telecom oligopolies in TELUS, Bell, and Rogers from accessing each other’s networks and those of smaller companies.
So a policy that was desperately needed to bring internet choice and help with affordability instead gives the Big Three a big advantage. These telecom behemoths are exploiting a loophole never designed for them to crush competition.
TELUS has been particularly bold. It claims that despite being a multi-billion dollar company, it is a “new entrant” and deserves the same treatment as the smaller competitors the policy was designed to protect.
The reality is that once the smaller competitors are forced out of the market, TELUS and the others will find it all too easy to raise prices.
Despite aggressive lobbying from TELUS, local and regional internet service providers remain optimistic that the CRTC will act to level the playing field for legitimate new entrants, who want real competition. We believe that Canadians want real choice, from real competitors — not more of the same from the Big Three, who do not need any more help from government regulators.
We are encouraging Canadians to voice their concerns. Our members launched a new campaign to “break free from the Big Three” and support real internet competition in Canada.
Canadians, regulators and legislators must not be fooled: TELUS is no “new entrant”. If the CRTC keeps the status quo, regional businesses will disappear, jobs will be lost, and network investments will dry up.
At a time when cost of living and affordability is front-and-centre for politicians and regulators, the last thing we should be doing is allowing existing giants, like TELUS, to exploit a regulatory loophole and roll over competitors trying to bring greater choice and affordable internet to Canadians.
I believe that greater affordability and choice in internet services is possible. But to get there, regulators must close the loophole, stop the Big Three from exercising their dominance, and set Canada up for real, sustainable competition in internet services.
Paul Andersen is President of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, representing local and regional independent service providers across Canada.
