Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Imran Khan (Northwestel Inc.)
Gatineau, 20 July 2026
Our reference: 8740-N1-202603092
BY E-MAIL
Imran Khan
Chief Financial Officer & Vice-President
Northwestel Inc.
10th Floor, 5201 Franklin Ave #100
Yellowknife NT X1A 2P1
regulatoryaffairs@nwtel.ca
Subject: Northwestel Inc. Tariff Notice 1281 – Introduce New FTTP Business Internet Gigabit Unlimited Package – Request for information
Dear Imran Khan:
The Commission received an application from Northwestel Inc. (Northwestel), dated 12 June 2026, in which Northwestel proposed changes to Item 1735 – Terrestrial Internet Services of its General Tariff, CRTC 3001.
Commission staff notes that additional information is required to proceed with its analysis.
Paragraph 28(1)(a) of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure provides that the Commission may require parties to file information or documents where needed.
Accordingly, Northwestel is requested to file its response to the request for information below, including supporting rationale and documentation, by 10 August 2026.
As set out in section 39 of the Telecommunications Act (the Act) and in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961, Procedures for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure in Commission proceedings, persons may designate certain information as confidential. A person designating information as confidential must provide a detailed explanation on why the relevant information qualifies for designation as confidential and why its disclosure would not be in the public interest, including why the specific direct harm that would be likely to result from the disclosure would outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
Furthermore, a person designating information as confidential must either file an abridged version of the document omitting only the information designated as confidential or provide reasons why an abridged version cannot be filed.
Where a document is to be filed or served by a specific date, the document must be actually received, not merely sent, by that date. The Commission requires the response or other documents to be submitted electronically by using the secured service “My CRTC Account” (Partner Log In or GCKey) and filling in the “Telecom Cover page” located on that web page.
To inform the participation of interested persons in the proceeding, Commission staff expects Northwestel to disclose information on the public record to the maximum extent possible.
A copy of this letter and all subsequent replies will be added to the public record of this proceeding.
Yours sincerely,
Original signed by Étienne Robelin for
Suneil Kanjeekal
Director, Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c.: Aouled-Nasteh Djama, Analyst, CRTC, 873-353-6239, aouled-nasteh.djama@crtc.gc.ca
Attach. (1)
Request for Information
In its application, Northwestel proposed to use the 2025 cost study provided in support of Tariff Notice 1249 to support the current Tariff Notice 1281 instead of filing a new cost study. Tariff Notice 1249 proposed to introduce a new fibre to the premises (FTTP) Business Internet 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) Unlimited package offered over Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology. The current tariff notice proposes the introduction of an FTTP Business Internet Gigabit Unlimited package provided over 10 Gigabit Symmetrical Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) technology.
Commission staff notes that Northwestel stated in its application that the costs to provide gigabit service over GPON and over XGS-PON are similar. However, GPON and XGS-PON are different technologies. As such, comparative data is required to ascertain whether the costs for the package offered over XGS-PON are just and reasonable.
Therefore, Commission staff requests that Northwestel submit a cost study in support of its proposed rate in Tariff Notice 1281.
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