TORONTO - The verbal war between Vonage Canada and cable company Shaw Communications continued to simmer on Wednesday after Shaw responded to Vonage's complaints regarding the $10 Quality of Service Enhancement fee being demanded by it.
Shaw is charging customers this fee for what it refers to as "a quality of service feature that will enhance (Internet telephony) services when used over the Shaw High Speed Internet network."
Vonage Canada did not like this unilateral imposition of fees and complained to Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) in this matter calling the plan a "thinly veiled VoIP tax." However, Saw responded by saying, "Shaw's quality of service enhancement helps address these shortcomings with Internet telephony."
Shaw president Peter Bissonnette went a step further and said Vonage was merely raking up the issue in connection with its IPO. "This is an old and tired complaint from Vonage. We think [the timing of the news release] has more to do with their Initial Public Offering and the fact they have so few customers in Canada rather than any real concerns about consumers," he said.
Vonage Canada responded to this by issuing its own press release. "In its release today, Shaw conveniently ignored answering any of the questions Vonage Canada posed to the CRTC about Shaw's VoIP tax," said Joe Parent, a vice president at the company.
"Instead Shaw simply regurgitated the vague information already posted on its website without offering its customers or Vonage Canada customers a clear explanation." It looks like the issue, which is being tossed about in the media could snowball into a legal battle.
