The CRTC is making internet companies let competitors use their fibre networks. What does it mean for Sask.?

Canada's telecommunications regulator has announced that large internet providers with high-speed fibre optic networks must let competitors use that infrastructure for a fee, starting in February.

In 2023, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) launched a public consultation forum with a goal of improving internet service competition in the country.

The proceedings found that competition in the industry is declining, leaving many Canadians with fewer options for high-speed Internet, the CRTC said.

"Today's decision will deliver more choice to Canadians who want higher-speed Internet at lower prices," a CRTC news release put out this Tuesday announcing the change said.

CRTC said the changes will address monopolies and consequently increase affordability.

It remains to be seen how things will work out.

What does it mean for Sask.?

There are three significant high-speed internet providers in Saskatchewan. SaskTel is the incumbent phone/data provider, and Rogers and Access Communications are the incumbent cable providers.

With Tuesday's announcement, internet providers like Access Communications will be able to use SaskTel's fibre network for a fee.

Jason Childs, a professor of economics at the University of Regina, said the effectiveness of the change will largely depend on how high the CRTC sets the fees. (Shlok Talati/CBC)

The CRTC said it will set the access fee for rivals by the end of this year. Jason Childs, a professor of economics at the University of Regina, said the fee will determine what happens next.

"If they get the pricing wrong at the wholesale level, it's either not going to reduce prices for consumers or it's going to mean little maintenance or expansion in the network, either of which is not good news," he said.

The CRTC took a similar step last year when it allowed rivals in Ontario and Quebec to sell internet services using fibre networks of large telephone companies. CRTC said that move saw competition decline "most significantly."

The CRTC said it received over 300 submissions and heard from 22 groups during a week-long public hearing in February 2024, including SaskTel.

SaskTel said the then-proposed regulations would remove incentives for owners to expand their fibre networks and called the potential competitors "parasitic to the system rather than symbiotic."

"It will simply not be logical for many facilities-based providers to expand existing networks. Therefore, expansion will slow or even retreat. This is not just a hypothetical argument, or a facilities owner crying wolf," SakTel said in its final April statement.

The CRTC's new guideline only applies to fibre that has already been built. It said any new fibre built by the large telephone companies will be made available to competitors after five years.

"This head start gives the large companies an opportunity to more quickly make a return on their investments and encourages them to connect more Canadians to fibre sooner," The CRTC said.

SaskTel opposed the new regulations, saying they would stifle expansion of high-speed internet infrastructure. (CBC)

Childs said the onus will be on the large telecom companies like SaskTel to weigh the profits they'd make in that five-year window against investments and risks.

"This is the fly in the ointment," he said.

"SaskTel's going to have to ask itself if it's worth continuing to invest, expand, maintain and upgrade the fibre network if they're not going to be the primary ones to profit from it. Why as a business would you make that investment?"

SaskTel said any service mandate should be applied equitably to major providers in an area. In Saskatchewan, it said, this means it should also apply to Access Communications.

Access Communications and SaskTel said no one was available for comment on the new regulations.

Childs said there are also other factors at play. He said the advent of technology like Starlink, a high-speed satellite internet service, could contribute to SaskTel halting its fibre expansion.

"It's not clear that this is going to do Saskatchewan any real good. It may stall the expansion of fibre optic networks," he said.