CRTC denies PIAC clarity on phone unlocking

The CRTC has denied a request by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to state that CRTC policy requires wireless providers to unlock devices for anyone who asks, regardless of whether they are customers of that company. In its decision, the commission said "if it were to extend the device unlocking rules to former customers or individuals who were never customers, it would be introducing a new requirement to the Wireless Code, rather than clarifying an existing one." The CRTC also said that it's an issue that is becoming less of a concern for customers, noting that “the issue of unlocking for existing devices will continue to diminish, since devices must now be sold unlocked.” “CRTC has just killed the resale market on used devices,” PIAC’s John Lawford told The Wire Report in response to the decision, noting he was not sure how this would help lower cellphone costs for Canadians, “nor enable the exercise of the market dynamism promised as a result of the Wireless Code.” The request for clarification followed the revision of the Wireless Code by the CRTC in Dec. 2017, which required the telecoms to unlock the devices sold to new and contract-renewing customers for free. These charges had made carriers over $37 million in revenue through unlocking fees in 2016, according to the CRTC. PIAC’s Part 1 application sought to clarify whether the right to unlock a phone would extend to non-customers. It asked that the commission should explicitly state that providers “must unlock all devices locked to their network, not just those associated with ongoing monthly service plans.” The request received support from groups like the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) and Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC). The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-related Services (CCTS) said the rules should be clarified but took no position on PIAC's application. Most providers – with the exception of Shaw Communications Inc.'s Freedom, which suggested the rule change in a Feb. 2017 CRTC hearing -- objected to the new rules, and argued that they were able to grant such requests only for devices that were originally sold by them. In response, the regulator sent a letter to the carriers asking for information on unlocking requests since the updated Wireless Code came into effect in Dec. 2017. In their Jun. 2018 submissions, BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. told the commission that the rules forcing providers to sell only unlocked devices had resulted in an increase in fraud and theft related to the sale of mobile devices, by as much as 100 per cent, according to Rogers. Bell also stated in its filling that as a result of the increase in thefts, they would only unlock phones at the point of sale. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the CCTS position on the issue and to clarify the focus of the CRTC's decision.

CRTC denies PIAC clarity on phone unlocking

Brief | May 23, 2019

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CRTC denies PIAC clarity on phone unlocking

Brief | May 23, 2019

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