Telecommunications network investments unlock social and economic opportunities for everyone

Telecom networks fuel the economy, touching everything from banking to education, to healthcare and food production. Governments at all levels can support prosperous economic and social outcomes by promoting sustainable competition and enabling private investments for network availability and future innovation.

A father and daughter viewing a computer screen while seated at a desk

Learn more about how policies and regulations can impact internet availability and the quality of our networks—helping to drive new technologies that improve our lives.

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Some of the ways we advocate

Critical network infrastructure

The CRTC is currently reviewing the wholesale framework for wireline services. Wholesale regimes have existed in Canada for many years, and the current consideration is whether to require carriers to provide resellers access to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure.

This decision would uniquely impact different parts of the country. It is important that the CRTC determine both if a wholesale framework is required, and if it is required, how that framework may impact different regions of Canada.

Any policy must take into account the current operating parameters, the unique competitive realities of each region, the network build requirements for that geography and the necessary conditions required to drive sustainable competition within that particular region.

Learn about the Wholesale Wireline Review

Driving innovation through investment

Unlocking the power of new technologies that can improve our quality of life and deliver economic, social and environmental benefits is dependent on having the most advanced, resilient and reliable networks. That’s why network investments are so critical to innovation and the development of game changing solutions like early forest fire detection and smart farming, made possible through 5G technology. Fostering innovative solutions contributes significantly to Canada’s economic growth, new job creation, fueling the digital revolution and making lives better for Canadians.

Learn more about investment and innovation

Connectivity for rural and Indigenous communities

With limited access to healthcare, education and government services, reliable internet connectivity is essential to bridge the gap for Canadians living in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. To support thriving rural economies, all Canadians need access to high-speed internet in order to participate fully in our digital economy, and connect to online job opportunities, e-commerce and remote work and education. Connectivity is a crucial tool in reconciliation, helping to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and supporting self-determination for Indigenous peoples.

Learn more about connecting rural Canada

Digital policy is climate policy

Mitigating climate change requires advanced technology solutions and connectivity. This includes both wireless technologies like 5G, and a transformative rural broadband investment to connect the remaining parts of Canada to high speed internet – so that benefits like remote work, which decreases emissions from transportation, for example, can be more broadly adopted. Research shows that broadband internet and digital technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 15 per cent to 20 per cent over current levels. The robust broadband infrastructure in Canada lays a foundation for a greener and more sustainable future.

Learn more about digital climate policies

Wholesale wireline review

When it comes to competition in telecommunication, Canada cannot adopt a “one size fits all” approach to address regional realities

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is considering mandating access to fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks to address competition concerns in some markets for high-speed internet.

As demand for reliable, resilient, and affordable internet service continues to grow across Canada, so too will the demand for continued network investment and deployment.

What determines the right internet policy for Canada?

Two TELUS technicians installing an underground wireline

Recognizing regional differences in market performance

The importance of disaggregated access and tailored mandates

There are

two types

of wholesale broadband services available in Canada which allow access to high-speed internet networks: aggregated and disaggregated service.

At a high level:

The aggregated service model bundles network facilities into a single package from one internet provider, which means a signal needs to travel a significant distance. For example, someone in Edmonton could have a phone signal that has to go to Vancouver and back.
The disaggregated service model provides internet resellers with the connection to an access network and requires that they provide their own transport network in order to sell retail high-speed internet. So when it comes to the distance a signal needs to travel, it could be as short as moving from a downtown core to just outside the city.

Facilities using an aggregated service model are vulnerable to burdens (from over-reliance and over-use of a single network option) which ultimately result in an impact on customer experience. To protect against inefficiencies requires incremental investments that could be better used towards under-served areas.

To ensure fair competition, any aggregated mandate must apply across the relevant product market, which should include fibre, cable and low earth orbit satellite.

TELUS advocates for disaggregated access, which requires resellers to invest in transport facilities in the communities they want to serve. This promotes sustainable competition, and also enhances the reliability and resiliency of Canada’s internet infrastructure.

Requiring resellers to build a portion of the network, increases network redundancies. Additionally, any wholesale mandate should be carefully tailored. An expanded wholesale mandate that does not exempt rural and remote areas and high-cost buried fibre can stall critical network builds for rural Canadians and Indigenous communities, who need it most.

Some network operators are trying to bar TELUS from accessing any wholesale mandate, despite TELUS’ success in western Canada. Such ideas are anti-competitive and anti-consumer. A wholesale framework is ineffective where the very companies identified by the Competition Bureau as best positioned to compete (due to economies of scale, brand recognition, the ability to offer complimentary services, etc.) are kept out of the market.

Finally, the CRTC must recognize the operators best suited to help drive competition. The

Competition Bureau

and the

Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)

testified before the CRTC in February that larger carriers from one region should be able to obtain wholesale access in regions outside of their incumbent territories.

TELUS' impact in Alberta and British Columbia is evident through declining internet prices, increasing market share for resellers and significant investments in fibre infrastructure. These provinces have experienced superior competition, resulting in higher-quality bandwidth, customer service and access to innovative cutting edge services.

In Ontario, prices are also coming down. By March 2024, for example, Ontario internet prices had dropped 26.6 per cent year-over-year, according to the

Statistics Canada Internet Access Services Index

. This timing corresponds with TELUS’ entry into the consumer Internet business in Ontario, including the introduction of Koodo’s “Happy Stack” bundle in February 2024, which offers wireless service, home Internet and streaming entertainment for $99 per month.

By enabling access for TELUS, we can bring even more competition and drive better prices for Canadians.

Pioneering fibre deployment and innovation in Canadian telecommunications

Overcoming challenges and expanding connectivity

Investment complexities

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Fast Facts

Between
2017 and 2022
, fibre availability almost doubled – from 35 per cent of households in 2017 to nearly 64 per cent of households in 2022. Fibre adoption is up 16.4 percentage points and average residential download speeds have quintupled during the same period;
Many communities‌ — ‌including large cities, smaller communities‌ and rural areas‌ — ‌still lack access to FTTP networks;
The higher cost of building and maintaining networks in Alberta and British Columbia is due to challenging topography, lower population density, higher labour costs‌ and risk of natural disasters;
Escalating labour costs in rural areas undermine the business case for network deployment;

Labour cost pressures are particularly acute in Alberta and British Columbia, where labour rates are 12 per cent higher than in Ontario and Quebec, and approximately 60 per cent of the cost of building networks is labour costs (Our World in Data 2023) (Labor share of gross domestic product (GDP 2020); and
According to the CRTC’s
interim
decision, the field of wholesale-based competitors in Ontario and Quebec has become less competitive, while competition has increased in Western and Atlantic Canada. At the end of 2022, wholesale-based competitors served 25 per cent fewer subscribers in Ontario and Quebec than they did two years prior. Meanwhile, in Western Canada, subscribers to services provided by wholesale-based competitors have increased by 17 per cent since 2020, while Atlantic Canada saw a 44 per cent increase in subscribers
(CRTC, 2023)
.

Network investments support economic growth

The telecommunications industry is a significant driver of Canada’s economic growth – the networks they build are a core, foundational part of Canada's overall infrastructure and key for economic and social development.

Through their network investments and job generation, telcos play a crucial role in fostering innovation that improves efficiency across industry sectors, creates opportunities throughout the supply chain‌ and gives Canada its technological edge in a rapidly evolving digital world.

Economic opportunities

Productivity and innovation

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Rural and Indigenous connectivity

Connectivity for rural, remote‌ and Indigenous communities

TELUS remains committed to expanding broadband access to bridge the digital divide, and ensure that all Canadians benefit from reliable connectivity. Access to reliable high-speed internet is essential for Canadians located all across our vast country to participate fully in the digital economy.

A middle-aged Indigenous man standing in a doorway

Rural and remote communities

Indigenous communities

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Connectivity creates opportunities for economic transformation

TELUS and government partners provide access to education, virtual and the digital economy, making opportunities accessible for all Canadians, regardless of where they live and work.

View related stories

Telecommunications network investments unlock social and economic opportunities for everyone

Some of the ways we advocate

Critical network infrastructure

Driving innovation through investment

Connectivity for rural and Indigenous communities

Digital policy is climate policy

Next generation networks unlock essential benefits

When it comes to competition in telecommunication, Canada cannot adopt a “one size fits all” approach to address regional realities

Fast Facts

Network investments support economic growth

Connectivity for rural, remote‌ and Indigenous communities

The benefits of network investments

Connectivity creates opportunities for economic transformation