Canadian telecommunications are a funny world. While the CRTC provisions facilitate the entry of regional actors like Cogeco in Sans-Fil, the framework of the federal body for the high-speed wired internet in the long-term viability of these same suppliers, which displeases practically everyone.
At the end of June, the Canada Radiation and Telecommunications Council (CRTC) has nevertheless reiterated its position. The owners of high speed networks young and old will have to continue to share their bandwidth at a rate with all their rivals, he announced. Unsurprisingly, the suppliers brought the decision on appeal. The federal government has until mid-August to amend it, or not.
Rare thing, almost everyone in the industry agrees that Ottawa should amend it. It is the nature of this modification that is debated.
On the one hand, the giants believe that sharing their infrastructure penalizes their profitability and will reduce their investment in the country. Bell already redirects its expansion plans outside the country, and favors its business opportunities in the United States. It focuses these days on its recent acquisition of the fiber optic network of the supplier of the American West Coast Ziply Fiber.
Bell said it was “deeply disappointed” that the CRTC authorizes access to its fiber network “despite a strong challenge expressed by the vast majority of Internet service providers, many suppliers, unions, municipalities, provinces and consumer defense groups”, summed up his public affairs chief, Robert Malcolmson.
Bell says it has reduced by 500 million in 2025 and by more than $ 1.2 billion since the CRTC’s initial decision in November 2023 its expenses in the maintenance and expansion of its national wired infrastructure.
Cogeco believes that it can allow access to its infrastructure by national suppliers like Telus is unfair, given the difference in size between the two companies.
This difference is also expressed on the stock market, where Cogeco Communications has a valuation of just under 3 billion, more than 10 times lower than that of Telus, at 34 billion.
Unsurprisingly, Telus is practically the only company satisfied with the CRTC decision at the moment. She takes advantage of these conditions to increase her presence in the east of the country at low cost.
“We hope the government will make the right decision,” said The press The vice-president regulatory and government affairs of Cogeco, Paul Beaudry. “He must amend the decision to specify that the three major suppliers [Bell, Rogers et Telus] are not eligible. »»
Paul Beaudry thinks that to encourage the boom of regional and independent suppliers in the will of the government of Mark Carney to strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty. “Most of the sectors targeted by its economic development plan depend on access to networks and the Internet,” he says.
Wireless despite everything
Despite these turbulence in high wired speed, Cogeco Communications confirmed its intention to embark on Canadian wireless. His management said that users in Quebec and Ontario already had access to its services and that an expansion will take place in 12 of Canada’s largest regional markets in the coming weeks.
This announcement was made by the president and chief executive officer of Cogeco, Frédéric Perron, when revealing quarterly financial results.
Cogeco has lost subscribers in the United States and Canada, which mainly disconnect from its basic services in TV and telephony. Its internet service added subscribers during the three months closed on May 31.
Ironically, the expansion of Cogeco in wirelessness is permitted by a provision of the CRTC which authorizes it to borrow the infrastructure of its larger rivals, and not the opposite.
“For us, wireless is complementary to our wired offer,” says Paul Beaudry. We will continue to offer both, but we would like the CRTC to help us to serve our regional customers better, because if the big players have access to our networks, we think that it will have a negative impact on them in the longer term. »»
Cogeco loses customers in the United States
The American subsidiary of Cogeco loses thousands of subscribers while its rivals are leading a warm fight to seduce new customers. Its subsidiary Breezeline lost 10,425 subscribers to the Internet service in three months, according to data published in the company management report. By excluding the variation of the US dollar, Breezeline sales fell 6.6 % compared to last year. The decline being more pronounced than anticipated, the management of the cablodistributor has revised downwards its income forecasts for financial year 2025. The Montreal company has faced winds-contrary to the United States for several quarters. The cable industry is faced with an intensification of competition, especially on the part of wireless Internet connection providers. The action of Cogeco Communications lost $ 6.02, or 8.49 %, at $ 64.88 on the Toronto Stock Exchange at the end of the session.
Canadian press
