r/CanadianBroadband

One of Canada's largest rural cellular expansion projects is being formally completed today, with the Eastern Ontario Regional Network and Rogers marking the successful delivery of the $300 million EORN Cell Gap Project.

The project was created to address long-standing coverage gaps across roughly 50,000 square kilometres of rural eastern Ontario. Its targets were ambitious: voice service across 99% of the areas where people live, work and travel on major roads, standard-definition data service across 95%, and higher-capacity service across 85%.

The original infrastructure plan called for 257 newly built towers, equipment added to 75 third-party tower locations, and upgrades to 312 existing sites. Rogers was selected through a competitive process to build and operate the network, with roughly half of the $300 million investment coming from federal, provincial and municipal partners and the remaining investment from Rogers.

The project has been rolling out gradually for years, so many communities did not suddenly gain service today. EORN has instead been announcing final tower completions county by county, including Northumberland County last week. Today's event marks the overall project's successful delivery rather than the activation of one single batch of towers.

There is also an important carrier distinction. The expanded commercial coverage is primarily available to Rogers customers and its Fido and Chatr brands. Other Canadian carriers can potentially colocate equipment on the infrastructure, but Bell and TELUS customers should not assume every new EORN tower automatically provides them with regular service. Emergency 911 calls are treated differently and can use an available tower regardless of carrier when technically possible.

For rural residents, the biggest legacy of the project may be less about headline 5G speeds and more about something considerably more basic: reducing the number of roads and communities where making a reliable phone call was previously impossible.

Sources & more: EORN / CNW – Completion event / EORN – Cell Gap Project updates / Infrastructure Location

www.change.org/usa250bday

TELUS has now confirmed that it plans to begin locking newly activated phones to its network for 60 days starting in October 2026.

This is more than a regulatory proposal at this point. TELUS has started adding notices directly to phone listings on its website stating that, beginning in October, a “60-day TELUS network security lock” will be active on new phones. The carrier says devices will automatically unlock 60 days after activation at no charge.

The timing has changed. TELUS originally told the CRTC it intended to begin the practice on July 30, but a TELUS spokesperson has now confirmed an October start instead. According to the carrier, that launch is not conditional on receiving approval from the CRTC first.

TELUS argues that temporary locking would help fight device theft, subscription fraud and organized retail crime. In its CRTC filing, it says other security measures have not been enough as fraud techniques continue to evolve. Bell, Rogers, Videotron and industry groups have also raised concerns about theft and fraud.

The regulatory issue remains unresolved. Canada's Wireless Code has prohibited carriers from selling locked devices since December 2017, and the CRTC has not yet granted TELUS an exemption. Bell previously introduced a similar 60-day lock and was told by the CRTC in 2025 that it had not demonstrated the measure was necessary and proportionate.

The key change is therefore simple: someone buying a new phone from TELUS this fall could receive a device initially restricted to the TELUS network, even while the regulator is still deciding whether carriers should be allowed to do this.

Sources & more: TELUS (see in the middle of page) / CRTC

Join us in this petition to force telecoms to answer their phones within ten minutes. I will be speaking at the CRTC hearings in November and would sure like big numbers on the petition and a number of customer service horror stories. Thanks!

EDIT: Wow, thank you for the overwhelming support and for pushing this to the #1 spot today! It is clear we are all completely exhausted by this garbage. Please make sure to grab the petition link and sign. Let's keep this moving!

Ontario-based independent ISP Netcrawler has filed a Part 1 application asking the CRTC to investigate how Rogers prices the network transport required to enter its western Canadian Internet markets.

Competitors can use Rogers’ cable network through regulated third-party Internet access, or TPIA. However, the connection carrying traffic between a Rogers point of interconnection and Netcrawler’s own infrastructure is commercially negotiated. Netcrawler alleges that Rogers is using its control over this necessary connection to impose substantially higher costs when the service will be used by a wholesale Internet competitor.

The strongest public comparison involves a 1Gbps connection quoted in Ontario in 2021. Netcrawler says Rogers’ monthly price for transport to a TPIA point of interconnection was 4.59 times the amount shown on a Rogers invoice for a 1Gbps transport service not associated with a POI. The exact prices, routes and third-party customer identities are redacted.

Netcrawler also says acquisition due diligence revealed that another independent ISP in western Canada was paying materially less for Rogers backhaul. According to the application, Rogers explained that some ISPs retained lower prices through older agreements. Netcrawler acknowledges that legitimate differences could result from distance, construction, capacity, contract length or network configuration, but argues that Rogers has not provided objective criteria explaining the disparities.

The company wants the CRTC to examine Rogers’ rates confidentially, identify viable third-party alternatives and determine whether Netcrawler is being subjected to an undue disadvantage. If Rogers cannot justify the differences, Netcrawler wants access to terms no less favourable than the lowest rates charged for comparable services.

These remain allegations in an application, not findings by the CRTC. Rogers has not yet filed its public response, and the Commission has not determined whether the compared services are sufficiently similar.

Sources & more: Netcrawler’s revised public CRTC application, filed July 20, 2026 / Related CRTC decision involving Fibernetics and Rogers / Netcrawler