CRTC demands subscriber data from TekSavvy and nine independent ISPs

This regulatory inquiry signals a tightening oversight of the wholesale high-speed access regime as the CRTC attempts to quantify the viability of independent providers. By collecting granular data on churn and bundle pricing, the commission can determine if current wholesale rates allow smaller players to compete effectively against vertically integrated incumbents like Rogers and Bell. For the streaming ecosystem, these findings will likely influence future infrastructure costs and the availability of third-party internet-television bundles in underserved regions. Watch for the October 9 filing deadline to see if independent ISPs push for further regulatory intervention based on the rural-urban service disparities revealed in their reports.

The CRTC's wholesale high-speed access framework has been under sustained regulatory scrutiny since the commission issued Telecom Regulatory Policy 2024-180, which mandated disaggregated wholesale access to incumbent networks. TekSavvy filed a formal complaint with the CRTC in early 2025 alleging that Bell and Rogers were delaying implementation of the disaggregated access orders, arguing that incumbents were using procedural delays to maintain their retail market dominance. The commission's latest data request to ten independent ISPs represents the next phase of that oversight, building on earlier information gathering from major carriers to assess whether wholesale rates and access conditions are producing genuine competition.

On the business side, independent ISPs have faced mounting financial pressure as wholesale costs and capital requirements for network buildouts have risen. TekSavvy reported in its 2024 fiscal year that subscriber growth had slowed while operating margins compressed due to rising wholesale access fees, a trend that underscores why the CRTC is collecting granular churn and bundle pricing data. The commission's broader mandate under the Telecommunications Act requires it to ensure that wholesale rates are just and reasonable, and the October 9 filing deadline will provide the first comprehensive dataset on how independent providers are faring under the current regime. The CRTC also launched a separate proceeding in 2025 examining whether the wholesale framework adequately supports broadband deployment in rural and remote communities, a question directly relevant to smaller ISPs like Vianet and Execulink that serve underserved areas.

From a technical and market perspective, the data the CRTC is collecting will inform whether the disaggregated access model is delivering the infrastructure investment and service quality improvements the commission intended. A 2025 report from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's own monitoring data showed that independent ISPs held approximately 8 percent of the residential broadband market, a share that has remained relatively flat since 2022 despite the introduction of new wholesale access rules. The streaming implications are direct: if independent ISPs cannot sustain competitive pricing or expand into underserved regions, consumers in those areas will have fewer options for bundling internet with over-the-top video services, potentially limiting the addressable market for streaming platforms that rely on third-party distribution partnerships rather than direct-to-consumer relationships.