CRTC bans locked phones and carrier unlocking fees

[canucks4life]

Canada’s telecom regulator has announced that as of December 1st, 2017, all individual and small business wireless consumers will have the right to have their mobile devices unlocked free of charge upon request, while all newly purchased devices must be provided unlocked from that day forward.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2017/06/15/crtc-canada-carrier-unlocking-fees-banned/

[zhadj030]

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@bask17 wrote:

In the US none of the big mobile companies charge unlocking fee once your 2 year contract ends. This was 6 years back in 2011.

This should have happened with Canadian carriers long time back. Atleast happening now. Good decision by CRTC.

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Better light years late then just never.

This should be the new CRTC logo

[bask17]

In the US none of the big mobile companies charge unlocking fee once your 2 year contract ends. This was 6 years back in 2011.

This should have happened with Canadian carriers long time back. Atleast happening now. Good decision by CRTC.

[ToniCipriani]

I don't really think it would be "several years" of phones to unlock, considering a lot of people don't even keep their phones more than 1-2 years. There would be some initial demand but probably volume would taper off pretty quick. I don't think average Joe is desperate to dig up their Galaxy S3 at the bottom of the drawer to get it unlocked.

With that being said, I wonder if PM might discontinue their unlock "service" after Dec 1 and make you call Telus or Koodo directly (although the call centre is the same...)

[Luddite]

@WearySky Thanks. Though won't be surprised if they are only required to unlock for the first user/contract. Otherwise, the carriers could have several years of phones to service.

[WearySky]

@Luddite they'll be required to unlock all locked phones for free, but the wording does specifically mention for customers in a contract. So if you buy a locked Rogers phone but aren't a Rogers customer, you might still be screwed. Since the wording says you can unlock at any time though, in theory you should be able to sign up, unlock, and cancel immediately. That's still incurring some level of cost though, so I hope the CRTC cracks down on it.

[Luddite]

Recall seeing they made $37 million in unlock fees, so that's going to be recovered somewhere. 

Anyone seen how the rule affects 2nd hand phones?

[WearySky]

I'm not convinced it's going to lead to all that much more churn right away - I feel like the device unlock fee is small potatoes compared to the huge device balances that many people have attached to their accounts.  I'd *love* to see prices drop but I don't realistically see it happening.  Since the big three have made it pretty clear they're happy sitting at their current oligopolistic status quo, never directly competing with each other (and only offering competitive plans in provinces that have a strong 4th contender), I imagine what we'll see is probably a $5/month increase in phone plans, and calling it a day.  Nice big profits for the big guys coming up next year!

[srlawren]

The more I think about this, I think this move may actually cause plan prices to come down a little.  Making it free and easy for people to unlock their phones removes yet another barrier to changing carriers, which should at least in theory bring up churn rates a bit come December.  Even just the visibility that you CAN get your phone unlocked based on news coverage recently and news coverage in December should help raise awareness that you can do this, and you're not as tied as you think to your current provider.  If the churn starts to go up, or even if the providers are nervous it will, then we could see some increased price competition.  Let's hope, anyway!

[WearySky]

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@zhadj030 wrote:
@mimmo
Aren't prices already very high . Three years ago the most expensive smartphone would be at max 899 now a lot of then are over 1 k for a phone.

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For that you can blame the drop in the Canadian dollar.  Flagship phones are roughly the same MSRP now in USD (within a few bucks) as they were three years ago, but the Canadian dollar is *significantly* devalued in that time period.  

Example:
iPhone 5s (released late 2013) MSRP - $649USD/$719CAD (base model)

iPhone 7 (released late 2016) MSRP - $649USD base/$899CAD (base model)

[ShawnC13]

@PunchDickins, why wait for 2 years?  Buy your phone outright and you will recover the cost of it during your time with PM.  I easily did that  when I bought out my wife's Phone/ Contract with Rogers.

[PunchDickins]

Woo Hoo....  carriers will not be able to lock phones going foward.  Hopefully that means a lot of people moving to Public Mobile in 2 years.

[ToniCipriani]

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@smp99 wrote:

1st - After Dec 1st, all phones are suppoed to arrive unlocked, so there will be no cost to the carrier to unlock - but there will be loss of revenue. So the question is, just how much profit is baked into the unlock 'cost'

2nd - This really sucks for people who have to get their device unlocked now or in the next month or so. 

But, in general this is a win for the consumer. 

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They made about $37.7 Million just by locking and unlocking phones.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2017/06/15/what-unlocking-fee-ban-means-for-canadians/

[stonechucker]

Because of this, just like the increase to the minimum wage in Ontario in 2019, the cost will be passed along to all customers.

yah.  Nope.

i think the telecoms will ditch the unlocking fee as ordered, but charge a $55 service fee, that covers setup of new service on the device, and "all other services including unlocking the phone, etc....."

i hadnt heard the all new devices unlocked on Dec 1, that's how it should have been always.

[computergeek541]

My opinion is that the phones should have never been locked in the first place.  Many consider this to be anti-competitive behavior.

[Tigerheron]

Woo-hoo! On the same day, the government killed the proposed tax on internet services, then banned companies from issuing locked phones. The changes begin in December. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/crtc-wireless-code-cellphone-1.4161711

[NDesai]

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@asantiago wrote:

 That doesn't mean they won't jack up phone prices though.

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They might jack up the price or minimize discount sales, but at least it won't be more than the retail price. 

[Shazia_K]

Hey @outdoorsaddix, 

I'm not too sure on this one, but if it's official then yes as of December 2017 we would unlock your phone for free. 

Some conditions to follow for unlocking a device here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Unlocking-Your-Phone/ta-p/5237

Thanks, 

Shazia

[asantiago]

Actually it's quite the opposite.

Carriers now pay an extra to phone manufacturers in order to have their devices customized and locked.

From now on, they won't have to pay for the locking process anymore.

That doesn't mean they won't jack up phone prices though.

[outdoorsaddix]

So if i have a locked Telus phone, will Public mobile now have to unlock it for me for free? Previously I know they would unlock Telus or Koodo phones being used on the network for $50.

@Shazia_K any comment on that?

[NDesai]

@kav2001c I have merged your topic into this one.

[Jorno]

Great topic!  More community thoughts on this announcement can also be found in the post "CRTC bans locked phones and carrier unlocking fees" taking place in Discussions.

[xCameron94x]

I would agree and disagree with that statement tbh. Yes, waiting will be good in the short-term. But you will see a price increase somewehre whether it be a price increase on the phone by a small percentage, or a small increase in the plan. You might not see "$0" on a two year term for example

Either way ROBELUS will find some way to increase prices, just like they did when they got rid of 3 year contracts in favour of 2 year

[kav2001c]

@ShawnC13 the old phones need to be unlocked for free

Any new phone must come unlocked

Really the title of this thread was click bait though

I admit it 

[ShawnC13]

I would buy a phone now before prices go up.  Because Dec 1 2017 they will have to unlock for free.  I wonder if you still have to be a customer or if you can just get it unlocked if it is locked to their network whether you are a current customer or not

[Acekiller]

Actually I would say now is the time to buy new phones before they jack up the prices.

[NDesai]

Nice. No more unlocking fees 🙂

[kav2001c]

Ohhh 

Interesting things are a -coming boys & girls

Check out this HOT news release!!!

https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-television-telecommunications/news/2017/06/crtc_puts_an_endtolockedce...

Locked phones are BANNED 

[srlawren]

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@mimmo wrote:

I thought if you buy a phone outright it is yours and you are not contrained to any plan

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@mimmo yes, today, as long as you are an active customer in good standing you can get your phone unlocked, but they are allowed to charge you a fee to do so--no longer after dec 1st.  

[smp99]

1st - After Dec 1st, all phones are suppoed to arrive unlocked, so there will be no cost to the carrier to unlock - but there will be loss of revenue. So the question is, just how much profit is baked into the unlock 'cost'

2nd - This really sucks for people who have to get their device unlocked now or in the next month or so. 

But, in general this is a win for the consumer. 

[Acekiller]

they will just bake in the cost into the phone.  I am just wondering how can I unlock my fido iphone when I am no longer with them.