Mr Viral
The Canadian Competition Bureau is taking Rogers Communications Inc. to court over alleged false advertising of its Infinite wireless phone plans as having unlimited data.
What’s interesting about this lawsuit is that it says the unlimited plans Rogers offers claim to offer “limitless data, allowing them to use as much data as they want.” Still, in reality, when you hit your actual limit, your speeds are reduced significantly.
This is how most cell phone data plans work from Bell, Telus and Freedom as well, so this lawsuit could have major implications throughout the telecom industry.
The Bureau has filed an application with the Canadian Competition Tribunal seeking Rogers to stop its misleading advertising, pay a penalty and issue restitution to Rogers customers with Infinite unlimited data plans.
Rogers launched these types of semi-unlimited plans in 2019 after they gained popularity at U.S. carriers. Telus was next, and Bell followed shortly after. When these plans became the norm in Canada, all the carriers stopped charging overage fees on these types of plans, but once people went over their data allotment, the unlimited portion was throttled down to around 512Kbps, which is extremely slow and almost unusable for many modern internet tasks.
It is worth noting that when Rogers launched these plans, its throttled data was actually as low as 256Kbps but was upped once competition from Bell and Telus started. However, some providers now limit certain plans to 256Kbps again, so it really depends on the plan and carrier you’re with.
Last year, on December 3, 2023, the Competition Bureau announced a probe toward Rogers over these plans and ordered the carrier to send over documents. As noted in a Globe and Mail report, it had apparently been inquiring into the Toronto-based telecoms unlimited plans since at least April of that same year.
In that same report, Rogers told the Globe that it felt its advertising was quite clear and the fact that the Bureau has singled out Rogers alone was quite concerning.
A few minutes after the antitrust regulator published its intent to sue on December 23, 2024, Rogers posted a statement on its website. “We introduced unlimited data plans in 2019 to deliver great value to our customers. These plans helped eliminate overage fees and gave customers bill certainty at a time when data use started growing exponentially. These plans are commonplace in the industry and reflected a significant and positive development for consumers and small businesses. The advertising of our Infinite plans is clear and truthful, and we will fight this litigation. These plans represent the norm in Canada and the Bureau’s decision to single out Rogers after five years is quite concerning.”
UPDATE Dec, 23, 2024 5:25PM: This story has been updated to include the word allegedly in the headline and lede. The timing of Rogers’ statement has been updated as well.
Source: Competition Bureau of Canada, Globe and Mail, Rogers
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