By Ahmad Hathout
Eastlink is expressing disappointment Friday after the CRTC blocked it from destandardizing certain internet speeds for third-party service providers that it no longer offers to its own retail customers.
In March last year, the regional telecom asked the CRTC to allow it to eliminate the 100 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload and the 300/10 Mbps speed tiers from competitor access as it stopped offering those tiers to new retail customers in December 2024. The telecom said the proposal was part of its effort to streamline and consolidate its service offerings.
But the CRTC denied the change Friday on the basis that “it would disproportionally affect competitors and considerably increase their access costs … eliminating these affordable speed tiers would run counter to the policy objective of increasing affordability of Internet services.”
Third-party telecoms, including Telus, TekSavvy, and Purple Cow, opposed Eastlink’s request on the basis that it would disproportionately affect them, given the popularity of these specific speeds; that it is allegedly uncompetitive because of the difference in access rates for the next tiers up; and that the regional did not adequately justify the application.
Eastlink argued, among other things, that its application did not represent a large price increase for the next speed tiers; that the CRTC had not previously established a price or speed difference to reject its application on such grounds; and that its application gives competitive neutrality because the telecoms would have to compete on the same speeds.
While the CRTC noted that Eastlink’s application followed the speed-matching policy – aligning the tiers it sells to both its retail and TPIA customers – it said the speeds it wanted to destandardize – the 100 Mbps tier in particular – are popular among customers of its competitors. The regulator also said the difference in access cost for the next tiers up (150 and 350 Mbps) are significant enough to “place a burn on competitors.”
“We are deeply disappointed that the CRTC requires the wholesale provision of services that we no longer offer to our own customers,” Eastlink told Cartt in a statement on Friday. “The CRTC continues to disregard the operational costs of facilities-based providers like Eastlink in favour of below-cost rates to resellers. These kinds of disproportionate, unpredictable, and inconsistent regulatory actions are not only contrary to the Commission’s own policies but add substantial costs to our business that will result in a continued decrease in investment and in turn, less growth and competition.”
