Bell, Rogers, Telus raise some internet prices — while small providers drop theirs

Getting connected online is becoming more costly for some Canadians. Bell, Rogers and Telus are all hiking rates for select home internet plans this year.

"Here we go again — they've got their hand in my pocket," says Toronto Bell customer Larry McLean about his latest price increase.

Rogers: Wireless Price Hike Needed Because Running Network 'More Work Than Making Cup Of Coffee'

TORONTO -- Rogers CEO Guy Laurence on Wednesday defended the communications giant's decision to raise cellphone rates despite higher revenue and profits, saying it was necessary to cover the high cost of building and maintaining mobile networks.

Rogers CEOs Nadir Mohamed, Guy Laurence Make Nearly $40M In Handover

TORONTO - Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B) doled out nearly $40 million last year paying the two executives who held the top position at the telecom company.

Guy Laurence, who only stepped into the CEO role on Dec. 2, made a total of $12.7 million in 2013, according to figures disclosed in Rogers' annual report.

Rogers Accused Of Charging For Traffic That Never Uses Their Networks

Rogers Communications is denying online accusations that it charges its internet customers for internal traffic on their routers, even if that traffic doesn’t use the Rogers network.

Several users of the social news site Reddit claim Rogers charged them for traffic on their local area network — traffic moving between computers on a Rogers-issued home router but which doesn’t go through Rogers’ internet infrastructure.

Rogers False Advertising Case Heads Towards Close

A legal battle between Canada’s Competition Bureau and Rogers Communications over allegations of false advertising is coming to a close.

Lawyers for the Competition Bureau filed closing arguments in a Toronto courtroom Monday, alleging that Rogers violated false-advertising rules in 2010 ads for its wireless sub-brand Chatr, the Globe and Mail reported.

Rogers Misleading Advertising Case Heads To Ontario Court

Call it a case of Tea Party thinking infecting Canadian business.

Rogers Telecommunications, having been ordered to pay a $10-million penalty for misleading advertising, is arguing before an Ontario court this week that regulations preventing it from providing false information violate its Charter right to freedom of expression.

If the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rules in Rogers’ favor and against the Competition Bureau -- which levied the penalty against Rogers -- it could open the door to an anything-goes approach to advertising in Canada.

Rogers Contracts Push The Envelope, Lawyer Says

Some of the conditions that Rogers Communications imposes on customers in fixed-term contracts are legally questionable, according to an expert at the University of Ottawa.

At issue is the company's practice of boosting service rates for things such as high-speed internet, home phone and cable TV, leaving some customers in fixed-term contracts in the unenviable position of either accepting the new prices or paying expensive fees to end their contract.

That "pushes the line of what is allowed legally," said Anthony Daimsis, a lawyer who specializes in Canadian contract law.

He told CBC's Marketplace that in terms of consumer protection, "it should simply not be allowed — it's what the law would call an unconscionable term."

Rogers stands by the practice, saying in a statement that "provisions allowing us to make changes to rates in our Terms of Service are fair to customers, are clearly disclosed and are in compliance with all applicable consumer protection legislation."

The company also says that customers who sign up for fixed-rate contracts are guaranteed a constant price for the duration of the term.

Rogers Misleading Advertising Case: Truth-In-Advertising Laws Violate Our Rights, Telecom Giant Says

Telecom giant Rogers is arguing before an Ontario court that truth-in-advertising rules are a violation of its right to freedom of expression, according to a news report.

Postmedia’s Sarah Schmidt reports that Rogers is challenging a $10-million fine levied on it for misleading advertising by the federal Competition Bureau by arguing that being forced to test its products before making claims about them is a violation of freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The case involves Rogers’ Chatr wireless brand, which the Competition Bureau found last November had engaged in “misleading advertising” with its claims that Chatr users experience "fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers" and have "no worries about dropped calls".

After reviewing technical data, the bureau concluded that “there is no discernible difference in dropped call rates between Rogers/Chatr and new entrants.”

According to Rogers' submission to the Superior Court of Ontario, the testing rule "prohibits and penalizes entirely truthful claims, including claims made on a reasonably held belief that such claims are entirely accurate and claims that are proven to be entirely accurate through post-claim testing. Not only are these types of claims entirely harmless, but they play an important role in consumer choice and may have a significant positive impact on prices and product innovation.”

CRTC Ruling: Rogers Violating Net Neutrality Rules

The CRTC has notified Rogers it has evidence the company is violating federal net neutrality rules by deliberately slowing down or "throttling" some of its internet traffic.

Andrea Rosen, CRTC's chief compliance and enforcement officer, notified Rogers of the findings in a letter last Friday. Rogers has until noon on Feb. 3 to respond or face a hearing.

To avoid a hearing, Rogers must present a rebuttal of the evidence or provide the CRTC with a plan to come into compliance with the act. If Rogers fails to do so, the regulator may order the company to partially reimburse customers and to change its practices.

The CRTC based its findings on the results of an investigation in collaboration with Cisco Systems, the hardware and software vendor that Rogers uses.

The probe was launched last October after a complaint by the Canadian Gamers Organization, an advocacy group for people who play video games, that accused Rogers of hindering online games. Specifically, the group detailed slow internet speeds experienced while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Jason Koblovsky, a Canadian Gamers Organization co-founder, called the CRTC findings "historic" and "a big win" not just for game developers but all Canadian internet users.

"There's a tremendous amount of throttling going on. Basically, any game that's running above 80 kilobits per second with peer-to-peer file sharing open is affected," he told CBC News in a phone interview.

"We're hoping that the evidence uncovered by the CRTC's investigations will also help game developers improve online environments. Their product is being hindered by Cisco's throttling equipment causing problems with connectivity and lag in a lot of gaming environments."

The Telecommunications Act and CRTC regulations allow throttling of peer-to-peer file sharing programs like BitTorrent, but not of time-sensitive internet traffic like video chatting or gaming.

CBC News is awaiting a response from Rogers.

In March Rogers admitted its network systems were unintentionally slowing down, or throttling, internet traffic for the game World of Warcraft, and then said it had resolved the problem. Then in September, the company said other games and programs might be getting tripped up by its throttling.

Bell recently announced it will stop all throttling as of March 1.

Original Article
Source: Huff 
Author: CBC 

Rogers Communications looking to start a bank

Rogers Communications wants to be your bank, as well as your phone, cable and Internet supplier.

The company says it has applied to the federal government for a banking license.

But Rogers won’t be jostling on for space on prime street corners with the Big Five banks, the company says.

Instead, it will be “primarily focused on credit, payment and charge card services,” said Carly Suppa of Rogers in an email.

“We have no plans to become a full-service deposit-taking financial institution.”

The company hasn’t set a target date for plunging into the financial services sector. In fact, it hasn’t made a final decision.