After gaining public feedback submitted by over 3,500 Canadians last year, the CRTC (Canadian radio-television and telecommunications commission) has drafted their wireless code. This draft states that:
- Customers should receive a personalized summary of the conditions in their contract
- Providers are to unlock customers' devices under "reasonable terms"
- customers are given tools to monitor their usage.
- Customers are to be allowed to restrict certain features that may cause additional charges to their plan
- ECF (Early cancellation fees) can only include the subsidy of the phone.
This indeed is a good start to changing the contract system we have in Canada. However, this does not address some issues that concern many Canadians, such as the idea of three year contracts. The balance between one, two and three year contracts are not seen in Canada. For example, a Galaxy S3 costs $550 outright, $400 on a two year contract, and only $99 on a three year contract. The gap between the subsidies make no sense at all. By signing a three year contract, the carrier subsidizes almost $450, whereas in a two year contract, they only subsidize $150. This is one of the many examples that prove costly to Canadians. We pay one of the highest monthly rates for our cell phones. Look down to the States, and they pay the same amount, but only are required to sign a two year contract, instead of three. Many countries have banned three year contracts, limiting the length to two years. I believe that it is time to abolish three year contracts. Another issue is the idea of Caller ID. It costs nothing for the carriers to enable caller ID on your phone, but instead, they choose to sell it to you at a cost of $7 a month.
This relates to Law 12 as it gives Canadians the freedom of speech. Through our opinions, the CRTC has adopted them into their draft of their new contract guidelines.
Source: CBC
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