Telus announced Tuesday it has launched a petition looking to drum up support for the Vancouver-based telecom’s plans to use the CRTC’s aggregated last-mile fibre regime to bring its PureFibre internet to Ontario and Quebec, following a federal cabinet decision earlier this month asking the commission to reconsider allowing the Big 3 telecom providers to use the bundled fibre networks of Bell and Telus in those two provinces.
Telus said in its Tuesday press release that it is “calling on Canadians to protect their right to choose their Internet service provider” and “urging consumers to join the movement to protect competition and choice by signing its #YourInternetYourChoice petition.”
“The CRTC’s original ruling — made after 17 months of consultation with over 300 participants, including consumer groups and the Competition Bureau — opened the door for new entrants like TELUS to offer Internet services in Ontario and Quebec, boosting competition in the market and offering Canadians greater choice,” the release said.
Telus recently confirmed to Cartt that it is using the aggregated last-mile fibre regime in Ontario and Quebec to deliver gigabit-speed PureFibre internet service to customers in those provinces.
“We’re already seeing the positive impact of the CRTC’s original decision,” said Zainul Mawji, executive vice president of Telus and president of Telus Consumer Solutions, in a statement. “As a new entrant in Ontario and Quebec, customers are choosing TELUS for their Internet service, proving that when more competition and choice is offered, the Canadian consumer wins with better affordability and increased options.”
Telus says it has been signing up customers daily since entering the Ontario and Quebec markets. “The federal Cabinet’s order to revisit the CRTC’s decision puts this progress at risk, creating uncertainty for consumers,” the Telus press release added.
“This is about ensuring Canadians have the freedom to choose the best provider for their needs,” Mawji said. “At TELUS, we’re committed to delivering exceptional service, innovative solutions, and affordable pricing. We urge the CRTC to maintain its original ruling, which aligns with Canada’s goal of greater competition, better pricing, and enhanced consumer choice.”
Telus is the only telecom of the Big 3 that wants wholesale internet access outside of its operating territory. Rogers and Bell have each said previously this would be bad for smaller competitors.
In its August wholesale access decision, the CRTC had expanded its temporary aggregated regime nationwide after initially focusing on wholesale access to Bell’s and Telus’s fibre networks in Ontario and Quebec in a November 2023 decision.
On Nov. 6, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne made a recommendation to the CRTC that it should revisit its decision of a year ago, following a Bell petition in February asking cabinet to rescind that CRTC decision.
In response to cabinet’s recommendation, the commission launched a public consultation last week on whether it should ban Rogers, Bell and Telus from using the bundled fibre networks of the two large telcos in Ontario and Quebec.
The CRTC subsequently received three review-and-vary applications asking that certain parts of its August decision be amended. In separate applications, Rogers and CNOC, Eastlink and Cogeco said the Big 3 should be banned from accessing the wholesale internet regime completely, regardless of technology and geography. TekSavvy filed its own application urging the CRTC to not allow the commission’s five-year access protection for Bell and Telus for new builds inside their operating territories, and also asking for a specific timeline on when the cable companies’ last-mile fibre builds will be subject to the aggregated access regime.
Image borrowed from Telus’s petition on Change.org
