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Cogeco and Eastlink File Appeal of CRTC Wholesale Fibre Ruling

Their filings accuse the regulator of misinterpreting key legal definitions with the Federal Court of Appeal set to decide if their challenge can proceed before an Aug. 13 government review deadline.

A person navigates to the on-line social-media pages of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on a cell phone in Ottawa on Monday, May 17, 2021. The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network says that in the face of shrinking resources that are making it more difficult to tell Indigenous stories, online streaming services should be required to contribute funding to the Canadian broadcasting system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Overview

  • Cogeco Communications and Eastlink asked the Federal Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the CRTC’s June 20 decision on wholesale fibre access.
  • The CRTC ruling allows Canada’s largest telecoms to resell internet service over each other’s fibre networks outside their core footprints.
  • Cogeco and Eastlink argue the commission acted arbitrarily and exceeded its jurisdiction by treating incumbent providers as new entrants.
  • The Federal Court of Appeal must now determine whether the companies have an arguable case of errors in law or jurisdiction.
  • The federal government retains the power to overrule or require the CRTC to revisit the ruling until Aug. 13.