Canadian ISPs resist lower wholesale rates

Six large Canadian ISPs, including Bell Canada and Rogers, have won a temporary stay from The Federal Court of Appeal against a CRTC decision to force them to provide lower cost wholesale access to their networks. The case will now be heard by the Federal Court of Appeal, although the judge has warned that if the ISPs lose the case they will have to repay any overcharges since March 2016.
The August 2019 decision by the Canadian regulator was immediately appealed by the ISPs on 13 September 2019, with an interim decision from the court on 30 September 2019.
In the initial hearing, the companies argued that the CRTC is exceeding its powers and had made mistakes when it ruled that they had overcharged, and should refund, smaller networks under interim wholesale rates established in 2016. Bell Canada said that it would have to pay back around C$100 million; while six cable companies estimated their share to be C$225 million.
The judge acknowledged that the decision could fundamentally alter market dynamics in Canad, a situation “which could be extremely difficult to remedy afterwards”. His judgement is that the status quo should remain while the appeal is heard.