Posted in Commentary with tags Rogers on December 24, 2024 by itnerd
Something that caught my eye last night is the fact that Rogers is being sued by the Canadian Competition Bureau over the fact that the telco makes claims that they have unlimited data plans, but in fact have plans that severely restrict data once you reach a certain threshold.
A spokesperson for Rogers said it disagreed with the bureau’s assessment of its phone plans, which were introduced in 2019, adding the company would fight the claims.
“These plans represent the norm in Canada and the Bureau’s decision to single out Rogers after five years is quite concerning,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Rogers has a point here. Let me explain. First, let’s look at how Rogers markets their data plans:
So Rogers uses the word “infinite” in the marketing their plans. And they state that you get a given amount of data, and after you use up that data, you get throttled. The Competition Bureau has an issue with the word “infinite” as it could mislead consumers.
The thing is, Rogers isn’t the only one of the “big three” who have a plan like this. If I have a look at TELUS, I see this:
And if you read the fine print, you see this:
TELUS is using the word “unlimited” even though it isn’t an “unlimited” plan. Yes they clearly state that you have a certain amount of data, and once you use that data up, you’ll be throttled. In my mind, this isn’t any different than Rogers and their use of the word “infinite”.
If you look at the amount of data you get, you will see that they clearly state that you get 100GB or 200GB of data, and then your speeds are throttled after that. So it’s the same scheme as TELUS and Rogers, but the word “unlimited” or “infinite” is not present.
Here’s where I’m going with this. Based on looking at these three telcos and how they market their data plans, I have the following observations. Bell for one has nothing to worry about when it comes to the Competition Bureau as this telco clearly markets their plans to avoid any impression that they offer unlimited data plans. However, using the Competition Bureau’s logic, TELUS should have been sued along with Rogers, or they should be expecting to be sued as on the surface they appear to be doing a version of what Rogers is being sued over. But strangely they are not being sued. At least not yet as a lawsuit might be inbound as I type this. I would love to hear from the Competition Bureau as to why Rogers is in the spotlight here and TELUS isn’t. They likely won’t comment. But they should as this looks kind of suspect to me.
Rogers Is Being Sued Over Unlimited Data Plans
Posted in Commentary with tags Rogers on December 24, 2024 by itnerdSomething that caught my eye last night is the fact that Rogers is being sued by the Canadian Competition Bureau over the fact that the telco makes claims that they have unlimited data plans, but in fact have plans that severely restrict data once you reach a certain threshold.
Now according to this CBC News story, Rogers is pushing back on this:
A spokesperson for Rogers said it disagreed with the bureau’s assessment of its phone plans, which were introduced in 2019, adding the company would fight the claims.
“These plans represent the norm in Canada and the Bureau’s decision to single out Rogers after five years is quite concerning,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Rogers has a point here. Let me explain. First, let’s look at how Rogers markets their data plans:
So Rogers uses the word “infinite” in the marketing their plans. And they state that you get a given amount of data, and after you use up that data, you get throttled. The Competition Bureau has an issue with the word “infinite” as it could mislead consumers.
The thing is, Rogers isn’t the only one of the “big three” who have a plan like this. If I have a look at TELUS, I see this:
And if you read the fine print, you see this:
TELUS is using the word “unlimited” even though it isn’t an “unlimited” plan. Yes they clearly state that you have a certain amount of data, and once you use that data up, you’ll be throttled. In my mind, this isn’t any different than Rogers and their use of the word “infinite”.
And if I have a look at Bell, I see this:
If you look at the amount of data you get, you will see that they clearly state that you get 100GB or 200GB of data, and then your speeds are throttled after that. So it’s the same scheme as TELUS and Rogers, but the word “unlimited” or “infinite” is not present.
Here’s where I’m going with this. Based on looking at these three telcos and how they market their data plans, I have the following observations. Bell for one has nothing to worry about when it comes to the Competition Bureau as this telco clearly markets their plans to avoid any impression that they offer unlimited data plans. However, using the Competition Bureau’s logic, TELUS should have been sued along with Rogers, or they should be expecting to be sued as on the surface they appear to be doing a version of what Rogers is being sued over. But strangely they are not being sued. At least not yet as a lawsuit might be inbound as I type this. I would love to hear from the Competition Bureau as to why Rogers is in the spotlight here and TELUS isn’t. They likely won’t comment. But they should as this looks kind of suspect to me.
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