Carrier Setup Fees Face a Real CRTC Test
Matthew Leo · Published August 17, 2026 · Business & Policy
Calling a mandatory activation charge a “device handling” fee does not necessarily move it outside Canada’s new ban.
The CRTC is testing that principle against charges introduced by Bell, Rogers and TELUS after federal rules prohibited fees tied to activating or modifying cellphone and Internet plans. On August 14, the regulator rejected requests to split the case or hold an oral hearing and extended the public intervention deadline to August 31.
No violation has been found. The carriers are entitled to answer the allegations, and the CRTC will decide on the full record. For consumers, the case is still worth watching because it will determine whether a fee ban changes the bill or merely changes the labels printed on it.
The charges under review
The CRTC’s August 14 procedural decision repeats the practices at issue:
| Provider | Charge identified by the CRTC |
|---|---|
| Bell | $40 device-handling charge when a customer buys a phone with wireless service |
| TELUS | $15 charge for a SIM card or eSIM as part of wireless service |
| Rogers | $40 device setup charge, $25 shipping charge and an unspecified SIM fee |
The regulator’s original show-cause notice dated June 30 says the protections took effect June 12, 2026. It requires the companies to explain why their charges fall outside the prohibition.
The test is about function, not branding
Section 27.04 of the Telecommunications Act prohibits a fee related to activation or modification of a telecommunications plan, as well as another fee whose main purpose is, in the CRTC’s opinion, discouraging a customer from changing a plan or cancelling a contract.
The policy leaves room for reasonable charges tied to physical installation at a customer’s premises. It also permits products or services the customer explicitly chooses, such as optional equipment that is not required to receive the service.
That distinction is the centre of the dispute. A genuinely optional accessory is different from a SIM required to use the wireless plan. Shipping can be optional if free pickup is practical, but less so if a remote customer has no reasonable alternative. A setup service can be optional when a buyer may decline it and activate the phone without losing a discount or access to the plan.
The invoice label is evidence, not the answer. The regulator needs to examine when the charge appears, whether it can be avoided and what the customer receives in return.
Why the procedure matters
Public-interest groups asked the CRTC to hold a two-day oral hearing and let all interveners file final replies. The Commission decided a written process was enough because the case concerns a focused compliance question.
The carriers retain the final reply. The CRTC said a greater degree of procedural fairness is owed to companies facing a potential compliance finding and enforcement measures. It also rejected TELUS’s request to split the case into a liability stage followed by a separate remedy stage.
That means the same proceeding can determine whether a violation occurred and, if so, what response is appropriate. The possible measures identified in the original notice include a mandatory compliance order and administrative monetary penalties. The statutory maximum cited by the CRTC is $10 million for a company and $25,000 for a relevant officer or director, but a maximum is not a forecast of what will be imposed.
What customers should save
Anyone charged one of these fees should keep the complete agreement, critical information summary, invoice and screenshots from the online checkout. Record whether the fee was disclosed before the order and whether the provider offered a realistic way to avoid it.
Ask the carrier to identify the product or service purchased for the fee. If the response is that the charge is mandatory for activation, preserve that wording. If the company says it is optional, ask for the no-fee path and whether using it changes the plan price, promotion or delivery method.
A disputed charge should first go through the provider’s complaint process. The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services can handle unresolved billing complaints involving participating providers. A complaint record does not replace the CRTC proceeding, but it can establish what happened to an individual customer.
A useful decision should close the relabelling loophole
Canada’s fee ban will have little practical effect if a provider can convert an activation fee into a required SIM, handling or setup charge without changing the transaction. At the same time, a blanket rule that forbids every delivery or optional-service charge would go beyond the policy the CRTC adopted.
The final decision should therefore publish a simple test consumers can apply before checkout:
- Is the item necessary to start or change the plan?
- Can the customer decline it without losing the chosen service or advertised price?
- Is the amount reasonably connected to a distinct product or work requested by the customer?
- Was the no-fee alternative disclosed clearly before the customer agreed?
Those questions would give providers room to sell real extras while making cosmetic relabelling much harder. That is the difference between a consumer-protection rule and a vocabulary exercise.
Tags: CRTC, Bell, Rogers, TELUS, telecom fees