By Ahmad Hathout
Bell has filed a Part 1 application, made public Friday, requesting an urgent order from the CRTC to, within two weeks, force Telus to make available adequate systems to launch its internet services in western Canada.
The urgent interim relief application follows an interim decision by the CRTC on February 5 requiring Bell to rollback updates to its systems that Telus had alleged was making Bell’s wholesale fibre systems unworkable as of January 14. Bell had alleged in response to Telus’s complaint that the Vancouver-based telecom had itself been doing what it is claiming: making it difficult for competitors to launch on its aggregated fibre network, which is mandated by the CRTC.
In light of the CRTC’s order granting Telus’s request, Bell now expects the regulator to reciprocate by forcing Telus to put in place systems so it can launch its wholesale internet services in British Columbia and Alberta, which was originally slated for last month.
“Given the Commission’s interim ruling that Telus is entitled to certain functionality from Bell that is not included in Bell’s tariff or otherwise mandated in order to access a workable wholesale HSA over FTTP service, Bell must equally be entitled to equivalent functionality from Telus in order to access a workable wholesale HSA over FTTP service in the west,” Bell said in its application, dated Wednesday. “It does not lie in Telus’ mouth to now argue that the functionality that it claimed was so critical to a workable wholesale HSA over FTTP service as to require an urgent interim order should not be granted to Bell on an equally urgent basis.”
Bell says it will file another application for final relief “in due course.”
Telus said if Bell has a legitimate grievance with its wholesale systems, then it should have filed its own complaint with the CRTC. While Bell said it believed that this would delay the process, it said it is now giving Telus what it asked for.
When asked for comment, Telus deferred to a February 5 document it filed to the CRTC, which outlined why it believed Bell was allegedly giving itself an undue preference in eastern Canada.
Bell publicly announced in October that it was going to use Telus’s fibre network to launch internet services out west. It had a trial in Kelowna and was expecting a full launch in January but said it had started revoking orders when it allegedly saw that Telus’s systems didn’t allow it to sufficiently scale because it did not make available an automated system for processing orders as it previously promised.
“As far as Bell is aware, a year after the deadline for Telus to launch wholesale HSA over FTTP, Telus’ ordering process remains largely, if not entirely, manual, and Telus did not implement a meaningfully automated solution by June 2025 or at all,” Bell alleges in its application.
“In December 2025, Bell raised deep concerns with Telus about Telus’ unworkable wholesale service, including a process deliberately designed to make it nearly impossible for Bell to sell wholesale-based services to existing Telus retail customers,” Bell further alleges. “However, Telus refused to agree to any changes to its processes or systems, including refusing to agree to allow Bell to book installation appointments for existing Telus retail customers who had not yet cancelled their Telus service. Telus also insisted that it could not possibly accept Bell implementing the same processes for Telus that Telus had in place for Bell.”
Bell claims it has been providing systems in the east that are far more workable than Telus’s. It says it provides a real-time calendar and instant confirmation for installation appointments, while its competitor allegedly provides a manual process with no calendar and requires one to two business days to provide confirmation. The friction means that its prospective customers “may give up on their effort to subscribe,” Bell claims.
Bell said since the CRTC’s November 2023 interim order mandating bundled fibre wholesale access only in Ontario and Quebec, Telus has been able to set up shop on Bell’s network in the east, despite Telus’s claims of service degradation. It was only until August 2024 that the CRTC expanded the mandated fibre access regime nationwide, including in B.C. and Alberta.
Since then, however, Bell claims it has had a tough go at getting adequate access.
“Bell has asked the CRTC to ensure greater Internet competition in Western Canada. Using the CRTC’s wholesale fibre policy, Bell wants to serve consumers in B.C. and Alberta, two provinces where people already pay more on average for broadband,” Bell said in a statement to Cartt.
“Unfortunately, Telus has prevented competition in Western Canada by failing to deliver a functional wholesale fibre service,” the statement alleges. “Telus has yet to meet its commitment to the CRTC that it would have an automated wholesale ordering process and platform in place by June 13, 2025 – eight months ago. In contrast, Bell provides Telus with fully functional, automated ordering and activation systems in Ontario and Quebec.
“Telus’ ongoing failure to provide a workable activation and installation process has prevented Bell from launching fibre Internet services in B.C. and Alberta, limiting competition that consumers already benefit from in Ontario and Quebec. It’s time for the CRTC to step in and ensure consumers in B.C. and Alberta benefit from greater Internet choice.”
Both Bell and Telus are claiming that the issues stem from an effort to stop the other from gaining a foothold in their respective operating territories.
The CRTC has ruled that telecoms can only access the wholesale internet framework outside of their operating territory to both encourage network investment and competition.
While Telus has been a proponent of the CRTC’s policy of allowing the three largest telecoms to use the wholesale internet regime, Bell is not a fan. Telus alleges in the back-and-forth that Bell is resorting to technical degradations of its wholesale fibre internet system because it failed to have the CRTC policy overturned by legal means.
By using Telus’s network, Bell’s President and CEO Mirko Bibic said the telco is just playing the hand it’s been dealt by the regulator.
During its Investor Day conference in October, Bell said it was launching the internet service in the west to protect its mobile wireless customer base, which means incrementally adding services such as content and internet to keep customers in the fold.
“Our focus in the west will be to protect our mobility base by offering more services in a disciplined way,” Blaik Kirby, the company’s group president of consumer and small business, said during the conference. “We will offer these wireless customers no set-top box Fibe TV and/or streaming content bundles to grow wireless sales and lower churn. And where necessary for the highest value customers, we will resell fiber internet.”
Bell CEO Mirko Bibic at the company’s Investor Day conference in October
