Rogers told to produce records for Competition Bureau investigation of wireless phone plans

The Competition Bureau has been granted an order by the Federal Court of Canada requiring Rogers Communications Inc. to produce records related to an investigation into the company’s Infinite wireless phone plans.

The bureau says it is probing claims in Rogers’ marketing campaigns that the plans have unlimited data, despite “allegedly significant reductions in data speed, known as throttling, after a subscriber reaches a certain data cap.”

The competition regulator says it is seeking to determine if Rogers’ marketing practices surrounding those plans comply with the Competition Act’s advertising provisions that bar false or misleading claims to promote a service.

It says there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.

Rogers spokeswoman Sarah Schmidt says the company’s advertising of its Infinite plans is truthful and clear.

She calls the introduction of these plans in 2019, which eliminated data overage charges, “a significant and positive development for consumers and competition.”

Schmidt notes such unlimited wireless plans are common across Canada and says Rogers finds the timing of the bureau’s investigation, as well as its focus on Rogers, “quite concerning.”