(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s largest telecommunications business made a formal request to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to reverse a regulator’s decision that slashed rates the company can charge to internet service providers.

BCE Inc.’s petition comes after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decided in August to reduce wholesale broadband prices that telcos charge to third party service providers in a bid to boost competition, with the cuts applying retroactively to 2016.

“Restoring the pre-existing rates and maintaining the status quo will allow resellers to continue to grow and at the same time preserve incentives for network investment at a critical juncture in the investment cycle,” BCE said in the petition to Trudeau’s cabinet, dated Wednesday.

The company argues the decision has brought wholesale broadband rates to below the cost of service, undermining incentives to invest and offer new products at a time when the nation is already struggling to retain business spending. BCE even cited the decision by Encana Corp. -- one of the country’s marquee energy companies -- to move its headquarters to the U.S.

“It is not the first time that we raise investment concerns with government. But, the dramatic impact of these latest rate reductions raises our concern to a new level, especially when the investment situation is already difficult in Canada,” BCE said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Theophilos Argitis at targitis@bloomberg.net, Stephen Wicary, Jacqueline Thorpe

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