Bell has launched Build. Connect. Grow Canada., a national multimedia campaign the company says is a direct response to the CRTC decision allowing TELUS, Rogers and Bell to resell on each other’s fibre networks.
The commission said its February decision – a reconsideration of a temporary decision published in late 2023 – was in response to a number of parties submitting that allowing the large incumbents to use wholesale access “would have material negative effects on future investment and long-term competition.”
“The evidence on the public record shows that consumer benefits brought about by Large Incumbent access to the Temporary Service outweighed any impact that access had on investment during the short time the Temporary Service was in effect,” the commission stated in February. “Accordingly, the Commission finds that the public interest would not be advanced by changing the Temporary Decision.”
Bell says the move undermines the business case for further investment in new network builds, saying it has revised its fibre build target down by 1.5 million locations and cut capital expenditures by $500 million this year.
The CRTC says these issues will be considered in a consolidated proceeding to address longer-term concerns about investment and competition. The commission said in February it was continuing to develop the record of applications to review and vary the Final Decision, which is set to wrap up by this summer.
