Wireless startup Mobilicity has declared a “colossal” victory after a B.C. court refused to prevent its TV ads from being aired.
The Toronto-based carrier said Wednesday that a British Columbia Supreme Court judge refused to give Telus Communications Co. a temporary injunction preventing the ads from being broadcast in the province until a full trial on its statement of claim that the ad is false and misleading.
Hall said the judge 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.”
Hall cited this paragraph from the decision: “This is not the place to resolve the technical issue of the effect of traffic throttling on the veracity of Mobilicity’s representation that its data plan is unlimited. What is clear is that Telus’s position is arguable. It certainly appears that a consumer attracted to Mobilicity’s offer of “unlimited data” would be wise to check the fine print. Ironically, what you see may not necessarily be what you get.
For his part, Mobilicity president Stewart Lyons said in a statement it was a big day for competition.
“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.”
Lyons called Telus’ claim as “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.”
