All cellphones sold in Canada must be unlocked starting in December

The CRTC, Canada’s wireless regulator, has ruled that every cellphone sold in the country must be unlocked, and carriers can no longer charge their customers to unlock their current devices, according to the CBC. The rules will take effect on December 1st, allowing customers to move to different carriers with their device as they wish.

According to the CBC, Canadian carriers charged their customers $50 Canadian dollars ($38) to unlock their devices, which added up to $37.7 million CAD ($28.5 million) in 2016. The carriers, of course, fought the ruling by the CRTC, claiming that customers should have to “bear the cost of the unlocking,” as Rogers vice president Howard Slawner said back in February, failing to note that carriers themselves lock devices. 

But the argument is moot now. Canadian carrier customers will be able to unlock their phones at will come December. 

The article was published on : theverge