The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) sent a letter to Rogers over the carrier’s new price hike and asked it to answer questions about the increase.
Earlier this week, MobileSyrup reported that Rogers and Fido notified some customers of a $5/mo price increase that would appear on their bills as a “Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment” starting on or after July 15, 2026. The notice appeared on customers’ bills and attributed the increase to Rogers’ network investments.
It’s a somewhat surprising move from the CRTC, as we don’t typically see it weigh in on price increases like this. However, don’t get too excited either — the commission is only seeking information from Rogers at this point, and it’s not clear if it will take any action over the price increase. Still, it’s a notable change of pace. Taken with other recent actions, like the commission’s letters to carriers over new fees, it may signal a more hands-on approach from Canada’s telecom regulator.
CRTC vice president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton wrote to Howard Slawner, Rogers’ VP of telecom, about the Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment. Hutton sought to better understand the new fee, given that the Wireless Code prohibits changing key contract terms without express consent from the account holder or another authorized user.
Hutton references the Wireless Code’s definition of a “minimum monthly charge,” which is the “amount that customers will have to pay for wireless services each month if they do not use optional services or incur any additional fees or overage charges.”
“The minimum monthly charge is a key contract term that cannot be changed by a service provider during the commitment period without the account holder’s or authorized user’s informed and express consent,” Hutton wrote.
Rogers must answer questions about new charge by July 3
Hutton went on to request that Rogers answer questions about the fee by no later than July 3, 2026. The first question is about whether Rogers is imposing the fee during customers’ ongoing commitment period. Interestingly, Hutton asked Rogers to answer “for customers who are subscribed to a longer-term contract and those on a month-to-month contract.”
That last part is notable, considering that some Fido customers who received the notice have only been with the provider for a few months. Several customers said they signed up with Fido’s promotional $25/80GB bring-your-own-phone (BYOP) plan — also known as a month-to-month contract — in March, and will see it climb to $30/mo in July with the Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment.
Based on the Wireless Code’s definition of a commitment period, a month-to-month contract’s commitment period would be “the current month or billing cycle.” In other words, Rogers wouldn’t need consent from month-to-month customers, as it’s making the change to a future commitment period. For now, it’s not clear if the carrier sent the notification to any customers on a contract.
The second question Hutton asked is about how Rogers presented the mandatory Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment to customers, and whether it was presented as part of the minimum monthly charge.
Rogers put a notice on customers’ bills about the increase, describing it as an “additional line item under Monthly Charges on your monthly bill called Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment.” That suggests the increase isn’t part of the minimum monthly charge, or at least that Rogers is trying to frame it as a separate item. I’m curious to see how Rogers explains this part to the CRTC, and how the commission will move forward.
MobileSyrup will watch this process closely, as it could have wider impacts on Canada’s telecom industry. For one, Canadian telecoms are notorious for raising rates for customers. If the CRTC is looking into the latest hike from Rogers, it could have repercussions on the practice as a whole.
Moreover, as Hutton mentions in the letter, the CRTC is looking into how to make consumer protections like the Wireless Code clearer and more consistent. That could mean tweaking the Code, and perhaps a tightening of the language that allows carriers to do these price hikes. At least, one can hope.
