The federal Competition Bureau has determined the controversial sale of Ontera to Bell Aliant would prevent competition for telecommunication services in 16 northeastern Ontario communities.
As a result, the enforcement agency said Bell Aliant has reached a long-term agreement to lease Ontera’s telecommunications network to a third-party provider, Bragg Communications, a division of Eastlink.
Bell Aliant will lease strands of fibre to Eastlink under a 20-year Indefeasible Right of Use on the entirety of the network south of Kapuskasing.
Last summer, the tribunal agreed to review the proposed $6-million sale of the telecommunications arm of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) following complaints lodged by Nipissing MP Jay Aspin and other regional and labour leaders that a monopoly situation could be created.
Ontera is the only business unit of the five divisions of the ONTC that’s being divested by the Wynne government. More than 40 unionized positions would be chopped over two years. The final closing date for the Ontera sale was Oct. 1.
Aspin petitioned the bureau to investigate whether the Ontera sale to Bell Aliant would exclude competitors from having access to high bandwidth telecommunications or raise the cost of those services to consumers.
After its investigation, the bureau determined that the Ontera sale would do just that.
The bureau said it advised the parties of its serious concerns and Bell Aliant agreed to address those concerns.
“I commend the parties for working effectively to resolve the bureau’s concerns in this matter,” said John Pecman, bureau commissioner, in an Oct. 1 news release. “With the agreement reached between Bell Aliant and Eastlink, households and businesses in Northern Ontario will continue to benefit from vigorous competition in the provision of wireline telecommunications services."
