The CRTC is deregulating home phone rates in some Canadian cities, enabling phone companies to better compete with cable and wireless firms that they claim have been encroaching on their turf without being subject to the same rules.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission made the annoucement Wednesday after Bell Canada, Telus Corp. and other phone companies filed requests with the regulator for more control of their home phone rates and bundled services.

The home phone rates will be deregulated first in Halifax, Fort McMurray, Alta., and some Maritime cities such as Fredericton and Charlottetown, the telecom regulator said. The ruling opens the way for deregulation to occur in major Canadian cities over the next few months, industry sources said.

The phone companies have been working on marketing plans for several months and will be ready to roll them out in the coming weeks. A Telus spokesman said residential land-line customers can expect similar offerings to those the company offers clients on its wireless side.

Telus has applied for restrictions to be lifted from its home phone market in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Rimouski, Que., and Fort McMurray. MTS has applied for Winnipeg, and Bell Canada has made requests for Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, London, Ont., Hamilton and Quebec City.

For the home phone market to be deregulated, the phone companies must have at least two competitors in any city, but one of them can be a cellphone service provider, the Globe and Mail reported. For the business phone market, only one competitor is required.

The phone companies must also meet service standards set out by the regulator.

The deregulation doesn't guarantee a price war, industry observers said, adding that competition among cellphone service providers and cable and satellite TV providers hasn't led to aggressive undercutting of rates, the Globe and Mail said.