(Ottawa) Canada’s telecommunications regulator has sided with BCE in a final offer arbitration proceeding between it and Quebecor over wholesale rates for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) .

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says Bell Canada’s proposal is the best one to encourage continued investment by both companies, while promoting competition and affordability of retail mobile services.

Earlier this year, the CRTC gave major telecommunications companies 90 days to negotiate access agreements for MVNOs, which followed a policy established in 2021 allowing regional cell phone providers to compete as MVNOs across Canada using networks built by large companies.

Quebecor had argued that Bell’s offer was “unfair and unreasonable because it does not provide sufficient flexibility […] to continue to discipline the market by marketing low-cost packages, to react to competing offers from incumbent companies and to generate cash flow to invest in the network.”

The CRTC recently ruled in an arbitration proceeding between Quebecor and Rogers Communications regarding MVNO data rates, siding with Quebecor in this case.