CRTC announced its new Wireless Code on Monday, June 3rd. The much anticipated regulation will change the way telecom carriers used to provide wireless services to their customers in Canada. The new code will enable users to terminate their contract with a carrier after two years and that too without facing any penalties. In addition, customers will also be able to get their phones unlocked 90 days after signing the contract. However, the best part of the new code is that it releases customers from a contract after two years. Those who have signed shorter contracts might have to face some penalty in case of terminating the deal. Here is what local carriers have said about the new code:
TELUS
In a statement the carrier said that, “Telus replaced contract cancellation charges with a device balance some years ago. We also already offer phone unlocking for our customers, and we already have a cap on international data roaming.”
The carrier also divulged that the new code will “give Canadians a strong and friendly set of protections.”
Rogers
The reply of wireless carrier was not much different from TELUS, but the company said that, “None of this is rocket science, but it all takes time,” Ken Engelhart, Rogers vice-president in charge of regulatory issues, told the news agency.
“And when you’re a big company with big IT systems — or for that matter, a small company with small IT systems — these things typically take 12 to 18 months to implement, and the CRTC has given us six months.”
However, the notable that Engelhart said was regarding the shorter contracts, here is what he had actually said: “Shorter contracts could also mean cellphone companies might offer smaller subsidies on devices — meaning customers might pay more up front for their phone.”
He also said that, “I’m not sure that this will be something that consumers are necessarily going to be positive about, but time will tell.”
Bell
Bell also said that two year terms would not prove flexible “for consumers”:
“Bell spokesman Paolo Pasquini told The Canadian Press that the company already provides customers with a number of ways to avoid signing a long-term contract and warned a two-year time frame could end up limiting their options.”
He said, “Most have chosen three-year contracts because of the big price reductions they mean on the latest smartphones. Restricting to two years means less flexibility for consumers, so it remains to be seen how they’ll respond.”
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) also issued a statement on this occasion in which the authority warned that the new code could make a two year contract more expensive with the addition of upfront charges:
“This requirement does limit consumer choice in the marketplace, and could make a customer’s upfront purchase price of a smartphone more expensive than current offerings.”
Source: iPhoneinCanada
Photo: iPhoneinCanada
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