Mobilicity user takes on Rogers over price hike

Roaming rates will soar to $6 per megabyte

• One of Mobilicity’s remaining customers has accused telecom giant Rogers Communications Inc. of abusing its power due to a drastic increase in data- roaming charges when Rogers folds the struggling wireless carrier into its other low- cost brand, Chatr.

Toronto- based businessman and Mobilicity customer Evan Kosiner filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission and the Competition Bureau after realizing his U. S. roaming rates will increase to $ 6 per megabyte or $ 6,000 per gigabyte with Chatr service f rom $ 1.50 per megabyte at Mobilicity.

“I t hink $ 6,000 a GB is outrageous and I don’t know of another carrier in North America l et alone t he world t hat charges that much for roaming in our neighbours next door,” Kosiner said, adding there should be a penalty for that under the wireless code.

While Kosiner is the only complainant, his problem reveals how roaming prices can still skyrocket despite the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission’s consumer-protection attempts.

Data- roaming charges are l i mited t o $ 100 per month under the CRTC’s wireless code, which is currently under review, but prepaid services such as those offered by Chatr and Mobilicity are not subject to this rule. Even though it’s farfetched to believe someone would pay $ 6,000 in advance for one GB of data while roaming when they could switch to a cheaper provider, Kosiner said he spoke up for all customers whose bills could rise during the transition.

Rogers, which bought Mobilicity in June 2015, announced in May it would dissolve t he brand and transfer its 150,000 subscribers to Chatr. Mobilicity bought spectrum in the 2008 auction as part of the Conservative government’s push to introduce more competition into the wireless marketplace, but its business struggled to take off and it wound up in creditor protection.

In its rebuttal to Kosiner’s complaint, Rogers states that less than one per cent of Mobilicity’s customers subscribed to attractive data-roaming packages when they were offered. It chalks up some fee increases as side effects of the migration due to IT systems, business and “other limitation.”

Rogers argues that most Chatr and Mobilicity cus- tomers very rarely roam outside their zones and, if they want to, they can switch to Rogers’ or Fido’s $ 5- per- day roaming plans to avoid Chatr’s high rates, according to a Sept. 21 letter. Because the service is pay- i n- advance, Rogers noted customers will simply stop receiving service if they decide not to pay the new rates.

It also pointed out that Mobilicity’s “f uture as a stand- alone business was in serious doubt” when Rogers bought it, a transaction that won approval from the bureau and Industry Canada ( now known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada).

“Since Rogers’ acquisition of Mobilicity, t he amount of wireless competition in Canada has not materially changed,” the letter states.

Still, the C o mpe t i - tion Bureau is examining Kosiner’s complaint that Rogers abused its dominant position. ( Kosiner insists his action isn’ t personal, though he has done business with Rogers and has filed previous complaints against both Rogers and Bell.)

“The bureau t akes all allegations of anti- competitive conduct seriously, whether we receive one c omplaint or many,” a spokesperson said i n an emailed statement.

To be f ound to have abused a dominant position, a firm must have market power and engage in anticompetitive acts that are likely to prevent or lessen competition.

Kosiner, who a dmits he’s getting a steal of a deal for mobile service under a grandfathered plan ( unlimited talk and text and 20 GB of data at 3G speeds for $ 35 per month), also uses Mobilicity for his charity’s phone service.

“You shouldn’t have to go to a different provider just because your provider is trying to take advantage of you,” he said.

“The roaming rates just seem crazy.”

Mobilicity c ustomers can get a bonus for transitioning t heir accounts to Chatr until Thursday at 11:59 p.m.

I DON’T KNOW OF ANOTHER CARRIER THAT CHARGES THAT MUCH.