Rogers says ‘several’ business accounts break wireless code

Rogers Communications Inc. is asking the CRTC for a break on "several" of its wireless contracts with business customers that it says contravene the wireless code. A letter from Rogers, posted to the CRTC's website on Tuesday, said the revelation came after the commission's clarification in October on how the code applies to certain types of corporate accounts. The CRTC said the code applies to any mobile service, even for businesses, where the individual user is responsible for any portion of the charges incurred. It added that the code does not cover "enterprise plans," where medium- or large-sized businesses deal directly with service providers and users are not responsible for charges. "As a result, Rogers discovered that it unknowingly entered into several agreements with Enterprises that contain terms that it now understands do not meet the requirements of the Wireless Code," Rogers said in its letter. It added it was "surprised" that the code applies to individuals' business accounts in which terms were negotiated by enterprises. It said the CRTC explained when the code was released that it would apply to small businesses, but not larger organizations, because "these customers are better able to negotiate agreements, including pricing, due to their size and purchasing power." Rogers said it is seeking exemptions from the CRTC on "employee purchase plans" and "corporate individual plans" signed in relation to "umbrella agreements'" with larger organizations between Dec. 2, 2013, when the code took effect, and Oct. 8, this year, when the CRTC's clarification was issued. Rogers would not disclose how many accounts are subject to this request, when asked by The Wire Report. It said in its letter to the CRTC that it signed the contracts "with the belief that such arrangements were not bound by the Code. These customers had the scale and bargaining power to negotiate special terms and prices for itself and its employees, which Rogers had understood to be the applicable test as to whether the Wireless Code applied to an agreement." Rogers said a key issue making these contracts non-compliant are three-year terms and provisions for early-cancellation charges. The code forbids carriers from charging early-cancellation fees to customers after two years on contract. "The contract lengths were in fact negotiated and chosen by the Enterprise," Rogers said in the letter. "The Enterprise then extended to their employees the benefit of specialized pricing that is discounted far below the typical consumer pricing, as well more favourable device subsidies and hardware upgrade policies." In a separate matter, Rogers is a part of consortium of mobile providers, including BCE Inc. and Telus Corp., that is challenging the wireless code' applicability to all accounts under its jurisdiction as of June 3 next year, even if they were signed before the code came into effect. Many customers on three-year contracts, at that time, will be able to walk away from their carriers at no charge if they have completed at least two years of the agreement. This case was recently heard in the Federal Court of Appeal. The CRTC's clarification on business mobile accounts was in response to a request from Telus. It had said there was some "ambiguity" in the code on this matter and, as a result, there might be a lack of consistency among different carriers. Neither Telus nor Bell immediately responded to inquiries as to whether they have business accounts that, as result of the CRTC's March clarification, have been discovered to be in contravention of the wireless code. The deadline for comments on Rogers' request for variance is Dec. 18. — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Rogers says ‘several’ business accounts break wireless code

News | 11/18/2014 8:15 pm EST

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