The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition the CRTC is forcing the country's big Internet service providers to offer competitors access to their fibre optic networks. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says the new requirement will give smaller Internet service providers (ISPs) access to much higher speed networks. "Large incumbent companies will now have to make their fibre facilities available to their competitors," the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said in its decision. "This measure will ensure that Canadians have more choice for high-speed Internet services." The big telcos, including Bell, Rogers, Telus and Shaw, have so far made fibre optic services available to about three million homes across the country. However, they have limited access for smaller ISPs to their slower networks, through cable or copper-wire systems. Last fall in hearings, the telcos made dire warnings that allowing competitors access to their fibre optic networks would deter investment. The CRTC says it is also moving to a so-called disaggregated model of providing high-speed access, which will require smaller ISPs to invest in equipment to access networks in different locations.