Canadian wireless customers beginning this week will be able to take advantage of a new “wireless code” designed to ease the burden on subscribing to wireless services.
The code, which was enacted in early June by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, states that beginning Dec. 2 all new contract customers will be able to get out of three-year contracts without having to pay a cancellation fee; require carriers to cap data overages at $50 per month and international data roaming charged at $100 per month; allow customers to unlock devices after 90 days of service or immediately if the device has been paid in full; provide a 15-day return window for customers signing up for new service; and receive a contract that “is easy to read and understand.”
The CRTC noted that the code will apply to all new contracts signed beginning Dec. 2, as well as apply to existing contracts that are renewed or extended or where the “key terms” are amended. The code will also apply to all wireless contracts as of June 3, 2015, regardless of when they were signed.
“The coming into force of the wireless code marks the beginning of a more dynamic marketplace for wireless services,” said Jean-Pierre Blais, chairman of the CRTC. “Rather than feeling trapped by their contracts, Canadians will be able to make informed choices about the wireless services – and service providers – that best meet their needs every two years, if not more often. It will be in the best interests of wireless companies to adopt innovative practices to ensure their customers are satisfied and to attract new ones.”
The CRTC notes it “supervises and regulates Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications while remaining independent – so it can serve the needs and interests of Canadian citizens, industry and government. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage.” Industry Canada, on the other hand, is a direct government agency tasked with managing Canada’s wireless airwaves and ruling on merger and acquisition activity across the telecommunications space, among other jobs.
A number of Canada’s wireless carriers had already moved forward with some of the conditions embedded in the new CRTC regulations. Telus Mobility announced in July that it was doing away with three-year contracts.
The CRTC code was proposed at the same time that Industry Canada announced plans to infuse new competition into Canada’s mobile space, including rules on spectrum deals and upcoming spectrum auctions. The 700 MHz spectrum auction, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 14, will include the market’s three biggest operators in Rogers, Bell Canada and Telus, as well as smaller players and new entrants, including Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Globalive Wireless, MTS and Videotron. Other qualified bidders include 1770129 Alberta, BH Wave Acquisition Group, Bragg Communications, Feenix Wireless, Novus Wireless, TBayTel, The Catalyst Capital Group and Vecima Networks.
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