Telcos mount charge before CRTC to restore device-locking

Canadian wireless service providers are rallying behind Telus Corp.’s appeal for the CRTC to reinstate device-locking capabilities. Last month, the B.C. company asked the CRTC to approve a 60-day lock that would prevent consumers from using new devices on other networks during the initial purchase period. Service providers have framed the issue as an important measure to limit growing smartphone theft across the country, while smaller carriers and advocacy groups are concerned the policy would further centralize competition in the telecoms sector by preventing people from switching plans. Telus asked the regulator to approve its proposal in the interim while it considers the application. Previously, the CRTC’s Wireless Code permitted a 90-day device lock, but the practice was scrapped in 2017 in an effort to facilitate smoother transitions between providers. The commission is currently considering a similar application from BCE Inc.’s Bell, which brought forward a proposal last year that would lock new devices for 60 days, but allow customers to request an unlock at no charge for “legitimate purposes,” like switching networks or travel plans. “The Telus Application provides further and compelling evidence that device theft and subscription fraud are industry-wide challenges that no individual carrier can address unilaterally,” wrote Bell lawyer Philippe Gauvin. “Telus's evidence corroborates Bell's own experience: the first 60 days following activation represent the highest risk window for subscription fraud, while fewer than 1 of legitimate Bell customers seek to switch providers during that 60-day period.” Telus, Bell, and Rogers Communications Inc. all detailed concerns with smartphone theft that they said could be mitigated by device-locking, though all three companies submitted redacted comments that did not publicly disclose specific figures. “Considerable details are filed in confidence by TELUS,” wrote Tahira Dawood, a lawyer for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. “Notably, data that is material to the issue including but not limited to TELUS’s theft and robbery losses; and subscription-fraud losses; as well as customer churn data is not publicly available.” “If TELUS considers a specific 60-day lock period to be a necessary and effective response to the issues under consideration, then it should be required to provide clear evidence on the public record to thoroughly review this claim.” In response, Telus vice-president Stephen Schmidt wrote that “filing sensitive information in confidence is a standard regulatory practice, not an evidentiary defect.” “This evidence is overwhelmingly corroborated by the wireless industry itself,” wrote Schmidt on Aug.5. “Major wireless service providers and industry representatives intervened in strong support of interim relief, each providing supplementary evidence of marked escalations in organized subscription fraud, physical retail theft, and violent crime.” “The industry consensus is unequivocal: urgent regulatory intervention is necessary.” The Canadian Telecommunications Association and Cogeco Communications Inc. also voiced support for Telus’s effort, while the independent B.C. provider Every-Day Computers Inc. (Ev-Com) and the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC) expressed reservations. “FRPC supports – indeed, who would oppose? - legitimate measures to protect the safety of retail staff and stores and to mitigate fraud,” submitted FRPC executive director Monica Auer. “ FRPC notes that TELUS’s application – which would apply on an interim basis to all WSPs – either redacts relevant evidence, limiting both verification and challenge or fails to provide it, is wildly disproportionate as a means of limiting street-level theft and is an entirely inefficient way to reduce SIM swap fraud, given that device-locking has nothing to do with fraudsters’ deception of WSPs.” There is no clear timeline for when the CRTC will issue a decision on the application. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Telcos mount charge before CRTC to restore device-locking

Regulatory |
By Davis Legree
|August 5, 2026

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Telcos mount charge before CRTC to restore device-locking

Regulatory | By Davis Legree |August 5, 2026

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