The Competition Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Rogers Communications, accusing the company of falsely claiming that its Infinite Wireless phone plan offers unlimited data.
The bureau said in a complaint Monday that Rogers’ advertising falsely or misleadingly created the impression that consumers were getting unlimited data. But the reality is that internet speeds are severely reduced after the data cap is reached. Once a customer reaches their data cap, data speeds are reduced by more than 99 per cent.
Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement that Canadians need accurate and reliable information when purchasing products and services, especially essential services like wireless data plans.
Rogers said in a statement that its Infinite plan advertising was clear and truthful. It will fight the lawsuit.
The company said the plan, which was introduced in 2019, helped avoid additional fees at a time when data usage was skyrocketing. Such plans are common in the industry and it is concerning to see Rogers singled out for this after five years.
Other Canadian telecom companies have also advertised unlimited data plans, which typically throttle speeds after reaching 512 kilobytes per second. Like Rogers, they also list the actual speeds for unlimited data in a footnote.
The bureau says it has filed an application with the Competition Tribunal to have Rogers stop the misleading advertising and pay a fine.
The legal action comes a little over a year after Rogers was ordered to provide records and information related to the investigation.
