Last week TELUS initiated a lawsuit with the BC Supreme Court against newer wireless carrier Mobilicity (DAVE Wireless) that pegged their latest advertisement as being damaging, plus “false and misleading.” The TV spot honed in on Mobilicity’s no-contract and unlimited monthly talk, text and data offering, compared to their competitors (not singling out TELUS) unlimited strategy of “what you see isn’t always what you get.”
In a press release today Mobilicity announced a “colossal victory” against TELUS that allows them to continue running the ad in question. Stewart Lyons, Mobilicity President and COO, stated that “We are happy with the Court’s ruling and that Canadian wireless consumers are still free to engage in a dialogue with each other about the many challenges facing Canadian wireless consumers – that’s what our TV commercial is all about.” In addition, Lyons noted that that TELUS attempted “a ridiculous bullying tactic and an unnecessary distraction during our busy holiday season. I hope now that Telus will focus on its business and improving customer service as opposed to trying to intimidate a smaller competitor.”
Update: We’ve heard from TELUS on this issue now. They state that it’s not really a clear victory yet as it’s just an “interim order” and “does not impact our pursuit of a full hearing.” TELUS says they “will proceed to a full development of the facts and a court hearing on the merits. We believe Mobilicity’s data throttling to restrict unlimited plans is a misleading claim that must be addressed. The court pointed out that Mobilicity’s reliance on fine print to support its claims was ironic considering the ad’s focus on ‘what you see is what you get.’ TELUS agrees.”
In addition, “Mobilicity claims to have unlimited data plans when in fact they don’t. Buried in their fine print the company gives itself the right to throttle heavy users and engage in other intrusive traffic shaping measures that make it impossible for customers to stream video or download large files after a certain threshold. That’s not unlimited.”
Looks like the case is just beginning. Heated competition.
Thoughts?
Source: CNW
