TELECOMS CLASH
Complaints over Vidéotron
TORONTO The way you listen to music on your smartphone is becoming a prickly issue with some of the country’s wireless carriers.
Rogers Communications filed a complaint with the CRTC this week over Vidéotron’s Unlimited Music offering, which allows certain customers to stream audio on the go without it counting toward their mobile data plan.
But Rogers says the service clashes with rules set by the regulator which prohibit telecoms from favouring customers when it comes to the transmission of wireless data.
Launched in August, Unlimited Music eliminates a common complaint from music fans who say that frequent audio streaming can max out their data plans and ultimately cost them extra money.
There are a few stipulations to Unlimited Music: It’s only included in Vidéotron’s premium wireless plan and just a select list of streaming services like Stingray, Rdio, Google Play and Spotify are exempt from data caps. Both of those factors have raised concerns with Rogers.
The Toronto- based telecom company filed a complaint with the CRTC on Tuesday saying Unlimited Music contravenes a regulatory decision on how telecom companies market mobile exemptions.
David Watt, vice- president of Rogers’ regulatory operations, said Vidéotron is “acting as the gatekeeper” by selecting which music streaming companies apply to its data exemption, giving them “an undue and unreasonable preference,” according to the complaint documents.
Rogers also has a problem with Vidéotron making Unlimited Music available only to premium plan customers. It said the Vidéotron’s favoured exemption of mobile data conflicts with a CRTC ruling earlier this year against Bell Mobility. The decision forced Bell to stop offering its customers an upgraded service for $ 5 a month, which let them stream a certain amount of video programming on their devices without counting the usage against their monthly wireless data caps.
Vidéotron said it created Unlimited Music as a way to broaden its wireless package appeal to the 14to 34- year- old demographic.