Cell Phone Freedom Act (Bill C-560)
Encyclopedia
The Cell Phone Freedom Act was introduced on June 17, 2010 in the Canadian House of Commons
as Bill C-560 by Bruce Hyer
, the New Democratic Party
Small Business Critic and Member of Parliament
for Thunder Bay—Superior North
.
Under the proposed legislation, wireless service providers may still employ such locks on customer phones while under contract, so it is unlikely to impact the common practice of offering subsidized phones on contracts.
In introducing the Cell Phone Freedom Act in Parliament, Hyer commented that the effective lack of competition in the Canadian wireless market, combined with lack of regulation, has led to a market situation where mobile phone providers could routinely place restrictions on consumer choice. Unlike most other developed countries, there are no regulations regarding placing a SIM lock
on mobile phones so that consumers are limited to using their handsets only on a single provider's network, and the practice has become standard in Canada. Hyer contends that these locks limit consumer choice and limit competition, resulting in poorer service and higher prices for Canadians. While it is possible for advanced users to unlock many GSM and High Speed Packet Access
(or HSPA, the mobile telephony protocol Canadian CDMA carriers are migrating to) phones, the process can result in damaged handsets if executed improperly. Mobile service providers generally only need to provide a Subsidy Password
that can be typed into a consumer's handset in order to unlock a mobile phone.
The other two major national carriers, Bell and Telus (and its sub-brand Koodo Mobile), have followed suit (this does not include the Apple iPhone). Other new carriers such as Wind Mobile already sell unlocked devices (with no extra unlocking fee).
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as Bill C-560 by Bruce Hyer
Bruce Hyer
Bruce Tolhurst Hyer is an American-born Canadian politician, who was first elected to represent the electoral district of Thunder Bay—Superior North in the 2008 Canadian federal election, and re-elected with a wider margin in the 2011 federal election...
, the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
Small Business Critic and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Thunder Bay—Superior North
Thunder Bay—Superior North
Thunder Bay—Superior North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1976....
.
Provisions
The Bill mandates that:- consumers buying new cell phones in Canada must be informed of the existence of any SIM lockSIM lockA SIM lock, simlock, network lock or subsidy lock is a capability built into GSM phones by mobile phone manufacturers. Network providers use this capability to restrict the use of these phones to specific countries and network providers...
(also known as a network lock) on their phone before sale; - wireless phone companies must unlock handsets upon request, without fee, when a consumer purchases a new phone outright (unsubsidized) without a contract;
- wireless phone companies must unlock handsets upon request, without fee, when a consumer comes to the end of their contract, or at any time thereafter.
Under the proposed legislation, wireless service providers may still employ such locks on customer phones while under contract, so it is unlikely to impact the common practice of offering subsidized phones on contracts.
In introducing the Cell Phone Freedom Act in Parliament, Hyer commented that the effective lack of competition in the Canadian wireless market, combined with lack of regulation, has led to a market situation where mobile phone providers could routinely place restrictions on consumer choice. Unlike most other developed countries, there are no regulations regarding placing a SIM lock
SIM lock
A SIM lock, simlock, network lock or subsidy lock is a capability built into GSM phones by mobile phone manufacturers. Network providers use this capability to restrict the use of these phones to specific countries and network providers...
on mobile phones so that consumers are limited to using their handsets only on a single provider's network, and the practice has become standard in Canada. Hyer contends that these locks limit consumer choice and limit competition, resulting in poorer service and higher prices for Canadians. While it is possible for advanced users to unlock many GSM and High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
(or HSPA, the mobile telephony protocol Canadian CDMA carriers are migrating to) phones, the process can result in damaged handsets if executed improperly. Mobile service providers generally only need to provide a Subsidy Password
Subsidy Password
The term Subsidy Password is used by Motorola and other handset manufacturers to refer to the 8-digit unlock code necessary to remove the operator lock from cell phones...
that can be typed into a consumer's handset in order to unlock a mobile phone.
Results
On December 15, 2010, Rogers Communications announced they would start offering to unlock all customers handsets (including the iPhone) for a flat fee of $50, in response to public pressure on the issue.The other two major national carriers, Bell and Telus (and its sub-brand Koodo Mobile), have followed suit (this does not include the Apple iPhone). Other new carriers such as Wind Mobile already sell unlocked devices (with no extra unlocking fee).