Slashdot Mirror
CRTC Bans Locked Phones and Carrier Unlocking Fees (mobilesyrup.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: 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. The decision came following the February 2017 review of the Wireless Code, where unlocking fees took center stage, with some parties (like Freedom Mobile) advocating for the abolishing of those fees altogether, some arguing they should remain as an important theft deterrent and the CRTC suggesting the fee should be far under the current $50 CAD standard. "The Wireless Code has helped make the wireless market more dynamic to the benefit of Canadians. While they appreciate the Code, they told us loudly and clearly that it could be more effective," said Jean-Pierre Blais, chairman of the CRTC, in a press release.
I've been using Unlocked BLU Handsets in Canada and the US on occasion. While I like this, for the USian audience out there: Ban CDMA. CDMA is one of the biggest carrier lock in scams out there. CDMA is only used in the US Now, and it was discontinued. I'm afraid to travel to the US Now, but when I used too more often, the proliferation of CDMA Towers meant that anywhere outside Large Metropolitan areas can you get good GSM coverage and there are many US Rural areas with NO GSM coverage - only CDMA.
CDMA should be considered unacceptable in the modern world for a first world.
CDMA is effectively a scheme to prevent users from switching carriers or bringing their own devices to networks, forcing them to finance ultra expensive Phones.