We all love a little competition, but when it comes to the Canadian telecommunications landscape, we need competition more than ever. The health of this sector, and its ability to serve Canadians effectively, hinges on that crucial factor – competition.
Why Competition Matters
Competition in the telecom industry isn’t just about companies vying for customers; it’s about fundamentally shaping the services we receive and the prices we pay. Here’s how:
- Expanding Choice: A competitive market offers consumers a wider array of choices. Different providers offer different packages at different prices. This empowers consumers to select the services that best fit their individual circumstances.
- Competitive Pricing: With competition and choice in the market comes competitive pricing. When new providers enter the market, it leads existing providers to assess their pricing models.
- Improving Service Quality: Competition also encourages companies to improve the quality of their service. This includes everything from network reliability and customer support and overall customer experience.
- Driving Innovation: When companies face competition, they are incentivized to innovate. This leads to the development of new technologies, competitive speeds, and top notch customer service. Without competition, the pace of innovation becomes stagnant, leaving consumers with outdated options.
Usually we would build in an analogy here to really hit this home. “Imagine there was only one or two pairs of shoes to choose from that don’t come in your style, your size or your price range…..”. But we don’t really need it. If you live in Canada, you already know the lack of Internet Provider choice and the headache it causes. So let’s move on to how we find a solution.
The Headache: Big Telco
Canada’s telecom market has historically been dominated by a few large players leading to concerns about the level of competition, customer experience woes and impact on affordability and choice. And Canadians feel it. Simply look at the latest Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) Mid-Year Report (2024-25) with complaints up 12% compared to the previous year¹.
The Solution: Cue The Rise of Independent Providers.
“Canadians benefit from competition when there is a range of service options and providers of various sizes competing in the market²”, explains the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commissions in the Canadian Telecommunications Market Report 2025. Independent Facilities-Based Internet Service Providers play a vital role in injecting competition into the market. These providers do not depend on big telco and therefore are not obligated to them. They are free to apply pressure by introducing innovative service offerings, more competitive pricing, and a better customer experience; driving consumers that have felt betrayed or taken advantage of by the major providers, straight to them.
Beanfield is one of Toronto’s best known local and homegrown Facilities-Based Internet Service Providers. Leading a charge against the Big Telco for over 35 years (we’ve been fighting the good fight for decades), Beanfield has been committed to driving down the cost of Internet in the communities we serve, focusing on outstanding customer service, and committing to the importance of community involvement. Prominent in both Residential and Commercial fibre connectivity, Beanfield employs 100% Canadian-based staff, 100% Canadian-driven investments, and 100% Canadian-based operations.
With expansion into Quebec and British Columbia, we are continuing to put pressure on Big Telco – a pressure that is driving innovation, choice, service quality and dare we say, “competition”.
¹ Commissions for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services, “Mid-Year Report August 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025”, Page 1, https://pub.ccts-cprst.ca/2024-2025-mid-year-report/?_gl=1*18h4y13*_gcl_au*MTkwODk0NzQ2My4xNzQ4OTcyODg4
² Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commissions, “Canadian Telecommunications Market Report 2025”, https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2025/ctmr.htm
