Future of broadband investment up in the air after CRTC rate decision
TORONTO — Experts are casting doubt that some major Canadian firms will follow through on threats to stop expanding their broadband networks after the CRTC lowered proposed rates to be charged to smaller rivals accessing their services.
The broadcast regulator’s decision isn’t significant enough to lower the profitability of big telecommunication companies to a point where they change how they spend on network infrastructure building, said Maher Yaghi, an analyst at Desjardins Securities.
“We have not seen, in Canada, telcos retract from making major investments based on CRTC decisions,” he noted.
In early October, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced interim rates that Bell, Rogers, Telus, SaskTel, Shaw, Cogeco, MTS and Videotron must charge independent service providers (ISPs) to gain access to their faster networks.