CRTC takes aim at activation and cancellation fees for cellphones, internet

The CRTC has issued a regulatory policy dealing with fees for cellphone and internet services, in an effort to address costs that might prevent Canadians from switching carriers. More specifically, the new regulations, announced on March 12, will prohibit cancellation charges for consumers transferring to another service provider and restrict activation fees. The new rules arise out of changes to the Telecommunications Act, which came into force in October. Those amendments prohibit the charging of fees for activation or modification of a service plan. In the decision, the commission decided fees related to optional services like WiFi do not fall under the rubric of activation or modification charges. When a subsidized device is not part of the customer contract, an early termination fee is not permitted, the regulator said. The regulations apply to individual and small business customers of wireless providers and individual consumers of internet services. Large businesses are not covered for either service, while small businesses are outside the scope of the internet rules. “The commission recognizes that implementing these new consumer protections will take time,” the decision reads. “However, since service providers have noted on the record of this proceeding that fees can be manually waived at the time of purchase, the commission considers that this would allow service providers to comply with the new provisions while they update their systems to remove the prohibited fees.” The new regime will take effect on June 12, and the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) will administer the new rules. Complaints about service fees will be added to the list of other complaints Canadians have about their telephony services. “Today’s decision removes extra fees to activate, change or cancel a plan,” CRTC chair Vicky Eatrides was quoted as saying in a news release. “This means that consumers can switch to a better deal without having to pay extra just to get the service that works best for them.” Consumer groups had long maintained that activation charges are a barrier to switching providers, while telecom companies had argued before the commission that fees are affected by market conditions. In particular, the Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA) was disappointed in the ruling. “Today’s CRTC decision is an unwarranted and self-defeating regulatory intervention in a market that’s already highly competitive and delivering historic price declines,” the CTA emailed The Wire Report. “These one-time fees help recover real costs that won’t disappear as a result of this decision–it will only shift how those costs are recovered in a market where switching providers is already easy and at record levels.” The CRTC indicated this is the first of a series of rulings that will be issued in reaction to the changes in the Telecommunications Act. ppark@thewirereport.ca

CRTC takes aim at activation and cancellation fees for cellphones, internet

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
|March 12, 2026

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CRTC takes aim at activation and cancellation fees for cellphones, internet

Regulatory | By Paul Park |March 12, 2026

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