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Conflict at the Bayview Mills condo complex began last fall when Rogers upgraded its cable network serving the 347 townhouses to an optical fibre-based network. Rogers removed the old coaxial cable at the property manager’s request, even though TekSavvy had purchased wholesale access to it to serve retail customers in the complex.

But providers were not obligated to sell wholesale access to fibre-to-the-premises networks under the old rules. In November 2015, Rogers informed TekSavvy it would migrate its customers and told it that it could not add any new customers until the new wholesale policy was in effect (it still isn’t).

TekSavvy asked the CRTC to intervene, arguing that the decision to update the wholesale access rules called for a “seamless transition” that would ensure wholesale access in the interim. Rogers countered that the transition didn’t require competitors to have access to every premises.

The CRTC ultimately agreed with TekSavvy, ordering Rogers to provide TekSavvy access to its existing and new retail users in the complex at the same speeds and rates issued under the old rules. It also directed Rogers to provide any other competitors access to the complex under the same conditions as TekSavvy.

“By denying competitors the ability to seek new end-users… Rogers would be conferring upon itself undue preference and subjecting competitors to an undue disadvantage,” the CRTC ruled.

Preventing TekSavvy from acquiring any new retail users in the complex would result in less consumer choice and competition and undermine competitors’ ability to get customers in the future, it added.

The CRTC warned that any incumbent that upgrades to fibre-to-the-premises facilities and removes old facilities used by wholesale competitors may be violating the Telecommunications Act.

Financial Post