OTTAWA – The CRTC last week sided with Quebecor in a dispute with Bell, Rogers and Telus over what the term “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” (MSRP) means as it pertains to the Wireless Code.
Section G of the Wireless Code deals with early cancellation fees and factors in the MSRP of devices when the device was subsidized as part of the contract.
In April, the CRTC launched a show cause proceeding on the use of the term after Quebecor, on behalf of its subsidiary Videotron submitted a letter claiming it observed Bell, Rogers and Telus inflating the retail price of mobile devices.
Quebecor argued because of this, customers were paying artificially high prices to cancel their contracts early, which it said goes against the objectives of the Wireless Code.
The Commission clarified in its decision last week “the regular (i.e., non-sale) price for a wireless mobile device, as published by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on the OEM’s Canadian website at the time that a contract is entered into, is to be deemed the MSRP for the purpose of Section G of the Wireless Code, if no MSRP is provided by the OEM to the wireless service provider (WSP). This applies only to early cancellation fees, and WSPs are still free to establish their own retail rates for wireless mobile devices.”
The CRTC’s decision applies to all new contracts with an early cancellation fee starting Nov. 28, 2022. It does not apply retroactively.
Wireless service providers are to collect and update MSRP data each month and must keep a record of that data.
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