Bell CEO warns 'interventionist' regulations could lead telcos to curtail investments

Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic is warning that increased regulation in Canada's telecommunications industry could lead companies to scale back investment.

Speaking at a lunch hosted by Canadian Club Toronto, Bibic took aim at the federal government and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for a shift "towards more micromanagement of Canada's telecom industry."

He said some investments are "impossible to justify" when big companies are required to provide smaller competitors access to their privately built networks at heavily discounted rates.

"Our industry is quite highly regulated and we appear to be moving rapidly towards even more intervention," said Bibic, adding that such an approach "generates market uncertainty."