A major dispute is playing out in front of Canada’s telecom regulator, with Rogers and small wireless provider Ztar Mobile clashing over a looming disconnection that could cut service for thousands of prepaid phone users.
Ztar, which offers low-cost mobile plans through retailers like 7-Eleven, Dollarama, and other convenience stores, claims Rogers is using its market power to push the smaller company out. It has filed a complaint with the CRTC, asking for emergency relief to keep service running past July 31, when Rogers plans to terminate their long-standing reseller agreement.
According to Ztar’s June 3 filing to the CRTC, Rogers has repeatedly acted unfairly, pointing to several key issues: it refused to provide modern features like LTE and VoLTE, even though those same services were offered to Rogers’ own budget brand, Chatr. Ztar also says Rogers backed out of a 2021 pricing agreement and later argued that the deal wasn’t legally binding.
On top of that, Rogers gave notice that it would disconnect Ztar’s customers while Ztar was in the middle of transitioning to a new network, leaving little time to migrate users. Ztar further alleges that Rogers plans to redirect disconnected users to a Rogers sign-up page, potentially poaching its customer base.
Ztar accuses Rogers of giving “undue preference” to its own brands and says the disconnection would cause irreversible harm to its business and customer trust, according to President Kevin Haddad.
But Rogers paints a very different picture. In its June 6 response by Howard Slawner, VP, Regulatory, Telecom, Rogers says this is a contract dispute, not a regulatory issue. The company argues it gave Ztar five months’ notice that their 2006 agreement wouldn’t be renewed, well beyond what’s required, and says Ztar owes a significant unpaid balance. Both the Ztar and Rogers filings are redacted, with confidential financial details removed.
Rogers told the CRTC, “Ztar has not acted with due diligence and does not have clean hands.”
It also warned that continuing to provide access would interfere with the planned shutdown of its 3G network at the end of July — a network Ztar still depends on. Rogers says supporting Ztar any longer could cause “significant additional cost and disruption.”
The telecom giant insists the CRTC isn’t the place to resolve this and says if Ztar wants relief, it should go to court. Rogers also rejected claims that it blocked Ztar from switching providers, saying Ztar had months to migrate its users but chose to delay. In the end, Rogers wants the CRTC to dismiss the request for interim injunctive relief.
Ztar, meanwhile, argues that Rogers’ behaviour amounts to anti-competitive conduct. It says thousands of Canadians — many with limited income or access to credit — will be left without mobile service if the CRTC doesn’t intervene.
Last month, Rogers noted online that customers still trying to use its 3G network after it shuts down will be charged a $75 fee.
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Hey Rogers! – You took over Shaw and then provided next to useless Tech Support, totally wasting my time. Now you have decided to screw 7-Eleven Speakout with this 4G switchover. When I found out about this 4G switchover happening, I bought another Easyfone flip phone to replace my 3G, now a 4G version. No Nano SIMs available since my SIM was a Micro, so I found out how to resize my previous SIM card. Even with VoLTE switched on, my 4G phone still shows that it is running 3G. Now you want to shut down my service!
If you want to continue to screw customers, then maybe I will be forced to stop my Rogers/Shaw TV and Internet subscription, along with my 7-Eleven Speakout. That way, you will lose out a lot of money if we customers band together and QUIT Rogers totally, a greedy and not customer friendly company that needs to be put out of business! I very nearly left you after being screwed around when my modem didn't work. You wasted a couple of my days due to incompetence and cheapness!