The Issue In A Nutshell

A recent decision by the CRTC has the potential to cause major disruption in the internet service marketplace. Fortunately, the decision can be reversed by the federal cabinet, if voices like yours are heard. Here's the issue in a nutshell.

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  • As you may know, telephone companies like Bell Canada and Telus built networks over decades supported by federal rules which gave them monopolies over telephone service. This was a form of subsidy by taxpayers, guaranteeing that these companies would be profitable, so that the public could benefit from having telecommunications networks across the country.
  • Once these networks were built, and the telephone companies were very well established, the federal government put in rules to help create healthy competition. One of these rules was to require Bell and Telus to allow competitors to connect to their networks, at prices that were regulated by the CRTC. This allowed Canadians to have access to a choice of provider for telephone and eventually for Internet services too.
  • This type of competition has been good for Canadians, ensuring lower prices, more innovation, and better service than would be the case if you were captive to a single monopoly provider.
  • The CRTC's recent decision would destroy this framework. It would allow companies like Bell and Telus to set whatever prices they choose for competitor access to their networks.
  • If this decision stands, we can all expect massive price increases designed to choke off competition. One way or another, we foresee higher prices, lower service standards, and little if any innovation.

The companies behind this campaign want the federal Cabinet to reverse this decision and ensure a healthy competitive market for internet and other telecom services. Our outreach program is intended to inform Canadian consumers of the issue at hand and make it easy to be heard in Ottawa.

Please take a moment and consider if you can add your voice to ours, and encourage the federal government to reverse this decision. If you want to do that now, click here.

Elsewhere on this site, under our background documents section, you will find all of the formal petitions, filings and news releases that are at the core of this issue.