Rogers Hi-Speed Internet
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor | Rogers@Home, Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet, Rogers Hi-Speed Internet, WAVE, Road Runner (Newfoundland) |
| Founded | November 28, 1995 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada |
Area served | Canada |
| Products | Broadband Internet services (cable Internet, fibre to the home) |
| Owner | Rogers Communications |
| Parent | Rogers Communications |
Rogers Xfinity operates as a Canadian broadband Internet service provider under the ownership of Rogers Communications. The company has previously delivered services through various brands, including Rogers@Home, Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet, Rogers Hi-Speed Internet, WAVE, and Road Runner in Newfoundland. Presently, it ranks as the second-largest Internet provider in Canada by subscriber numbers, trailing only Bell Internet.
The introduction of Rogers' high-speed internet dates back to November 1995, initially available in Newmarket, Ontario. By the year 2000, the coverage had extended to regions throughout Ontario and British Columbia. Between 2015 and 2024, the service operated under the name Rogers Ignite before transitioning to the Xfinity brand through a technology licensing arrangement with U.S.-based cable company Comcast.
1990s: Initial phase
On November 28, 1995, Rogers debuted its high-speed internet service aimed at remote professionals. Marketed as WAVE, this service reached roughly 16,000 residences in Newmarket, Ontario, establishing it as North America’s pioneering cable Internet offering. Subsequently, Rogers incorporated the DOCSIS standard to improve service performance.
2000s: Expansion and Yahoo! collaboration
By 2000, Rogers had rebranded to Rogers@Home and broadened its footprint into additional cities across Ontario and British Columbia. In 2004, a partnership with Yahoo! led to the launch of Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet, which provided unlimited email storage and access to premium Yahoo! features such as Flickr PRO accounts. Website hosting shifted from Rogers domains to ca.geocities.com URLs, with ad-free options maintained for existing users until GeoCities ceased operations in 2009. Despite continuing the Yahoo! partnership for some time, Rogers phased out the Yahoo! branding from its offerings in 2008.
In mid-2009, free Flickr Pro accounts were discontinued for customers, although Yahoo!-powered Rogers Mail accounts remained active.
2010s: DOCSIS 3 adoption, FTTH rollout, and pricing adjustments
On January 16, 2012, Rogers implemented a $2 price increase on most cable Internet plans, attributing this change to enhanced data caps and the introduction of SpeedBoost technology. Customers observed that SpeedBoost had initially been offered without additional charges but subsequently influenced higher pricing.
Following this update, subscribers using DOCSIS 3.0 technology experienced speed upgrades: Express plans increased from 12 to 18 Mbit/s; Extreme plans rose from 24 to 28 Mbit/s; and Ultimate plans improved from 50 to 75 Mbit/s. Data allowances were also raised by increments of 10 to 20 GB in March of that year. In August 2012, Lite plan speeds doubled from 3 to 6 Mbit/s alongside an increase in data caps from 15 GB to 20 GB.
On August 1, 2012, Rogers quietly introduced an unadvertised Ultimate tier delivering download speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s and upload speeds of 10 Mbit/s within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with intentions to expand this offering throughout Ontario by year-end. Current Ultimate plan subscribers were informed when this upgrade became accessible.
That same year marked the introduction of fibre to the home (FTTH) residential internet services in select neighborhoods of Toronto and Moncton.
In March 2015, Rogers unveiled Rogers Ignite, a streamlined suite designed specifically for streaming media consumers, featuring mostly usage-capped-free packages. By October of that year, Ignite Gigabit Internet enabled support for 4K streaming on the Rogers Cable NextBox 4K set-top devices.
November 2015 saw Rogers broaden its portfolio with a Fido-branded home internet option available in Ontario, providing a plan with speeds up to 30 Mbit/s and a data cap of 300 GB, along with discounts for customers who also subscribed to Fido mobile services.
2020s: Rogers Xfinity Internet
In April 2024, Rogers expanded its technological collaboration with Comcast and later that year began rebranding its Ignite offerings under the name "Rogers Xfinity".
Services
Rogers delivers cable Internet utilizing the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) technology, complemented by additional features such as Internet security software packages.
Cable Internet
The company promotes its cable Internet service as "Hybrid Fibre," emphasizing the distinct allocation of Internet and cable television signal frequencies on customers’ coaxial cables. Available speed tiers range from Lite (10 Mbit/s download, 1 Mbit/s upload) to Ultimate (250 Mbit/s download, 20 Mbit/s upload), with Ultimate Fibre providing symmetrical speeds of 350 Mbit/s. Monthly data allowances for Ultimate and Ultimate Fibre plans have been raised to 1 TB and 2 TB respectively.
Subscribers without Rogers TV packages are unable to access most analog channels, except for channels 2 through 6, which remain accessible via over-the-air broadcasts.
Users of Hi-Speed Internet receive browser notifications when they reach either 75% or 100% of their monthly data quotas. Exceeding these limits incurs additional charges per gigabyte, ranging from $0.50 on premium plans up to $4.00 on the Lite plan. All plans except Lite are compatible with DOCSIS 3.0 technology.
Fibre Internet (FTTH)
Rogers introduced a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service tier named Rogers Ultimate Fibre Internet, delivering symmetrical speeds up to 350 Mbit/s. By mid-2021, this offering was available in select areas of Toronto and the Atlantic provinces, including Moncton, featuring a monthly data cap of 2 terabytes. Priced at $225.99 CAD per month (as of October 2013), this service utilizes Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology and represents a strategic phase in Rogers’ network expansion.
Security
Rogers replaced its previous Norton Internet Security product with an in-house Rogers Online Protection suite, which includes antivirus/spyware protection, parental controls, privacy management, and firewall capabilities. Customers were required to transition to this new software by June 30, 2009.
The basic security package is complimentary with standard services and covers antivirus, antispyware, firewall, and parental controls. Paid premium tiers offer enhanced features such as PC optimization, identity theft safeguards, wireless network protection, and backup solutions. This suite is compatible exclusively with Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Legacy services
Previously, Rogers offered Portable Internet in certain rural regions via the Inukshuk Wireless network, similar to offerings from competitor Bell Internet. This service was terminated on March 1, 2012, with customers encouraged to migrate to Rogers Wireless Internet options that generally impose lower bandwidth limits.
Criticism
Rogers has been criticized for its practices involving traffic management and content inspection. The company used deep packet inspection techniques to identify and throttle BitTorrent traffic and redirected unsuccessful DNS queries to its proprietary search portal. Furthermore, Rogers attracted controversy by inserting advertisements into paid webmail services.
Throttling
Rogers implemented bandwidth throttling using Cisco's SCE-2020 and subsequently SCE-8000 hardware to limit BitTorrent traffic, despite promoting its network as suitable for large file sharing. Initially, Rogers denied engaging in such restrictions but intensified throttling measures in May 2007 to encompass all encrypted file transfers, impacting more than just BitTorrent users.
In January 2011, the CRTC reprimanded Rogers for failing to disclose that its Internet Traffic Management Practices (ITMP) could lead to reduced download speeds. Nevertheless, Rogers persisted in throttling traffic not on its whitelist for up to 15 minutes following the cessation of peer-to-peer activity. This incorrect classification also affected certain online games, including World of Warcraft, with slow resolution despite feedback from customers and game developers.
By May 2011, Rogers stated that the World of Warcraft throttling problem had been fixed on test systems; however, users continued to report issues. Throughout 2011 and 2012, the CRTC conducted testing and enforcement actions that revealed additional violations of net neutrality regulations.
After Bell announced the end of throttling in December 2011 and further CRTC enforcement findings emerged in early 2012, Rogers declared on February 6, 2012, its intention to discontinue throttling practices by the close of that year.
Injection of content
Beginning in December 2007, Rogers started inserting warning messages into customers' web pages without their consent. Users approaching their internet data limits receive a persistent red alert displayed above website content until acknowledged or dismissed. This approach sparked concerns regarding network neutrality principles and user experience quality.