[myTouch 3G, Magic Android Development] ben.selinger:
Well, I'm pretty sure "I" didn't redirect my 911 test call to Rogers support, and someone certainly did. I will certainly admit the possibility that while I am positive I dialed 911, and pressed send, that my handset may have dialed a different number, but according to my call log, I did call 911, and the call was intercepted. If anyone else is still having their calls diverted, perhaps you could call up your local emergency response authority, and schedule an emergency 911 call. It may be pointless at this point, as Rogers has clearly acknowledged the issue internally, so they may have had time to rectify the situation.

Regardless, even the possibility that 911 calls are intercepted, will be filed with my complaint to the CCTS tomorrow morning. Perhaps they will investigate further, and perhaps my experience with 911 interception/diversion is unique, but I'll them decide who is correct in the matter. I will also be discussing the matter with my employer, as well as my customers.

I doubt the CCTS will do anything unless everyone else effected, reports this ongoing incident as well. I'm sure my employer won't switch phone companies immediately either, but I'll bet it will be a consideration when our contract comes up for renewal, as incidents like this will inevitably cost us good relationships with long standing customers. Incidentally, I did happen to have a customer (private customer, not affiliated with my primary employer) who required my assistance, who was not able to contact me because I had not received his emails on Saturday evening. When I got home at 2330, and checked emails using my land line, I tried to phone him, and was redirected to Rogers, who wasted nearly 30 minutes getting my voice service re-activated temporarily.

Perhaps Rogers didn't fully consider the impact of this most recent move...

eg1; Company A has a contract with Company B, to provide 24/7 mission critical data center monitoring. Company A's voice and data services are provided on contract, by Rogers business services. Friday evening, Rogers disconnects both voice and data to Customer A, while Customer B's web server fails. Customer A is never informed of said failure, as he's not receiving email on his phone, and will not discover the catastrophe until Monday morning. Company B sues Company A for not fulfilling its legal contract. Company A sues Rogers for breaching its contract.

eg2; Rogers customer is navigating through the mountains, relying on GPS and data from their Android device. Rogers disconnects data service without notice, leaving the customer lost in the mountains. Yup, this happened to me during the first round of disconnections. I drove around for the majority of the day looking for a way back to the highway. I nearly ran out of fuel, and it was about -35C out. If I had run out of fuel, I suppose I could've called for a tow truck or 911, except that I'd be diverted to Rogers support.

eg3; The most unlikely, but certainly most important. Customer has a voice and data plan with Rogers. Customer uses a non-Rogers branded HTC Android device (there's NOTHING in the contract which stipulates a requirement for hardware or software. Lets pretend he's using a T-mobile G1, which has been upgraded by T-mobile, to fix the 911 bug, over a year ago). Customer is driving down the highway at night, at -35C and looses control, and hits the ditch. Customer is injured, and barely conscious, and attempts to dial his/her family, or 911. Rogers intercepts the call like retards, and the customer dies from his/her injuries or due to exposure. Way to go Rogers.

Now, as far as I've been made aware, in Canada, any cellular service provider MUST accept 911 calls from any phone which is compatible with their network, regardless of the existence of an existing service agreement (someone please correct me if I am mistaken). Less important, but still relevant, is that Rogers has a contract with their customers, to provide voice and data services. They have repeatedly breached this contract, by disconnecting both services, without warning. I rather doubt that Rogers will challenge the legality of this, as it would certainly cause most rational folk, to think twice about signing with a provider who makes no assurances of anything whatsoever, regardless of Rogers' legal obligations.

I certainly don't have much hope for an immediate customer victory on this issue, but I am quite positive, that I, as well as many others, will keep this incident in mind when renewing our cellular contracts for ourselves, for our businesses, and for our customers who rely on us to provide good judgement on our choices between providers.