After Big Drop in ISP Competition, Canada Mandates Fiber-Network Sharing

In an attempt to boost broadband competition, Canada's telecom regulator is forcing large phone companies to open their fiber networks to competitors. Smaller companies will be allowed to buy network capacity and use it to offer competing broadband plans to consumers. From a report: Evidence received during a comment period 'shows that competition in the Internet services market is declining,' the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said in its announcement. The CRTC said the 'decrease is most significant in Ontario and Quebec, where independent competitors now serve 47 percent fewer customers than they did just two years ago. At the same time, several competitors have been bought out by larger Internet providers. This has left many Canadians with fewer options for high-speed Internet services.'

The CRTC hasn't made a final decision on fiber resale. But in the meantime, until a more permanent ruling is made, large telcos in Ontario and Quebec will be 'required to provide competitors with access to their fibre-to-the-home networks within six months,' the CRTC said. The six-month period is intended to give companies time to prepare their networks and develop information technology and billing systems, the agency said. 'On a temporary and expedited basis, the CRTC is providing competitors with a workable way to sell Internet services using the fibre-to-the-home networks of large telephone companies in Ontario and Quebec, where competition has declined most significantly,' the agency said. 'The CRTC is also setting the interim rates that competitors will pay when selling services over these fibre-to-the-home networks. These rates were chosen to allow Canada's large Internet companies to continue investing in their networks to deliver high-quality services to Canadians.'

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