Neighbour refusing to allow Rogers to run aerial cable to my house

[chefmichelel123]

We are trying to become Rogers Ignite customers but our neighbour refuses to allow Rogers to access their property and the pole to run a cable to our house. Our neighbour has said that he needs to see a city by-law proving that he must provide access to Rogers. 

He also doesn't want an aerial line to our house. 

What information is there to help  me. 

***Edited Labels***

[Datalink]

Do a google search for:  City bylaw property easement, or possibly City bylaw property easement access    City is the city that you live in.  

Each city will probably have slightly different bylaw access regulations.  In the case of Hydro poles, if you're referring to a hydro pole that is actually used by the provincial or city hydro company, then your neighbour will have to allow the provincial or city hydro crews access to that hydro pole.  The same might not be said for telecom company staff.  So, you will have to read thru the bylaw specifics for your particular city.

Property easements exist for all cities for the purpose of utility access to buried or overhead cable systems.  If you look at your property map, you should see easements on that map, indicating where a utility company technician is allowed to work on your property. 

Just to point out an example of city specific rules, here's an excerpt from Ottawa's bylaws:

https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-development-and-construction/development-information-residents/all-abo...

Skipping down to the Property Easements section, there is an interesting statement:

"If a homeowner blocks a utility easement, it is a civil matter between the homeowner and the utility; the City will not get involved."  So, if for example a homeowner blocked Rogers from accessing a utility pole, then the matter is between that homeowner and Rogers.  

If your neighbourhood is serviced by overhead cabling, then your neighbour should allow access to that utility pole so that the field techs can service the local tap which is probably located on that pole.  That local tap is essentially an overgrown splitter which provides service to the surrounding homes.  That local tap, and the cabling to and from that local tap requires servicing every now and then in order to maintain adequate internet service to surrounding homes.  If the neighbour is blocking access to that utility pole, eventually it will result in poor service to those surrounding homes, including the neighbours home if in fact he happens to be a Rogers or TPIA internet/tv customer.  The overhead cabling will last a few years before the weathering results in cracked cables and water ingress to those cables.  When that happens the cable could simply fail outright and have to be replace immediately or it could degrade, requiring replacement when the cable performance drops below an acceptable level.  In any event, your neighbour, if he's being a good neighbour, will allow Rogers techs to access the utility pole for servicing, including connect/disconnect situations.  If he wants to be a pain, he can refuse and annoy all of his immediate neighbours.

Unless there is a ground easement that runs from that utility pole to your yard, there isn't much choice but to run an overhead cable.  If your neighbourhood only has overhead cabling, then there definitely isn't any choice.  That's the way the cable system is built, and until, and unless Rogers installs underground cabling in your neighbourhood, your neighbour is stuck with it.  My bet is that Bell will install Fibre to the Home before Rogers installs cable or fibre to your home.  Now, there is an interesting question of running aerial cables across someone's property where that property owner isn't the recipient of any services that the cable in question might provide.  Who owns the airspace above your property and what rights do companies have when it comes to providing cable services thru that airspace?  I haven't found an answer to that question.

So, a little research is in order.  Consult your city bylaws to see what it indicates for easement access. 

[chefmichelel123]

The City of Toronto does not have a 'right to entry' by-law. I called the city. 

Bell Canada has a right to entry for emergencies or by court order. 

Rogers has not been able to answer my question with their chat representative. It has been escalated to another team but will take days for them to respond. 

I could not find a similar right to entry for Rogers in my online search. 

[Torontonian1]

I have a similar problem in my area. A neighbour had been using my "airspace" for their Bell cable. It was just removed but is now using my 100 ft. maple tree as a "pole" (connector put into tree) to stop the cable from crossing their backyard to the connection pole.  Not explained to me at the time.  Neighbours!   I am going to look into what underground cabling is available in my area to deal with my Rogers internet cable and Bell landline cable.  Or I may go Starlink.