A new Canadian wireless provider that offers service for $19 a month could lose its ability to operate in Canada because of a dispute with Rogers.
Sugar Mobile's wireless service throughout Canada uses a combination of Wi-Fi and roaming cellular service from other carriers.
The ability to roam on Rogers's network is "essential to the service," allowing users to do basic things like make 911 calls when not connected to Wi-Fi, says parent company Ice Wireless in a complaint filed Monday to Canada's telecommunications regulator.
However, Rogers indicates it intends to terminate its roaming agreement with Ice Wireless, disconnecting both Ice Wireless and Sugar Mobile, Ice Wireless told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Ice Wireless alleges the disconnection would violate a telecommunications regulation requiring national carriers like Rogers to allow wholesale partners like Ice Wireless to roam on their networks for a regulated fee. It's asking the CRTC to prevent Rogers from disconnecting both companies.
Ice Wireless has a roaming agreement with Rogers because it operates a cellular network in Canada's North. The agreement allows Ice Wireless customers to roam on the Rogers network when they're travelling in the south. In return, Rogers customers can use Ice Wireless's network when they're in the north. Sugar Mobile has been piggybacking on that agreement.
Rogers says roaming deal violated
However, Rogers alleges Sugar Mobile's use of its network is a violation of its roaming agreement with Ice Wireless.
"We value our relationship with Ice Wireless and hope these violations of our agreement will be resolved," said Aaron Lazarus, senior director of public affair for Rogers, in an email to CBC News.
He added "Rogers has never had an agreement of any kind with Sugar Mobile."
Ice Wireless suggests the real reason for the disconnection is that "Rogers clearly feels threatened by the innovation and competition represented by Sugar Mobile."
The company told the CRTC that being cut off by Rogers would cause irreparable harm to both Ice Wireless and Sugar Mobile.
Sugar Mobile customers have no access to cellular service in some places, and the company would also suffer "irreparable reputational harm." That wouldn't just affect Sugar Mobile, but other companies, it says, as the problem would "likely prevent many Canadians from willing to try the service or other innovative mobile wireless services."
Meanwhile, if Ice Wireless is disconnected, the company says there could be"a massive loss of subscribers to other operators. In these circumstances, Ice Wireless would have difficulty sustaining itself as a viable business."
That, in turn, would reduce wireless competition in Canada's north, it says.
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