Cell Phone Freedom Act (Bill C-343)

In case you do not know what the title of this article is about, then you should bear in mind that it is a law related to the obligations/freedoms of an individual when deciding to purchase a new phone. It is important to keep in mind that Freedom Act (also called Bill C-343) was firstly introduced in June, in the year of 2010 by Bruce Hyer, a Canadian political figure and Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay—Superior North, also known for being leader of the Green Party of Canada. Hyer initially introduced this bill in the House of Commons carrying the name C-560. However, it changed its name along with the episode in which, following the 2011 government defeat and Cell Phone Freedom Act reintroduction.

Here is why this bill would interest you: its provisions are strongly related to the phone unlocking procedure and also revolve around Wireless codes. Companies which deal with offering wireless devices must legally unlock handsets should customers request this. Furthermore, it would be important to bear in mind that the rate is to be specified by the provider. Also, wireless phone distributors are obliged to unlock handsets upon request, at a rate specified by the provider, when a consumer finishes the agreed contract. The proposed legislation also ensures the following: locks can still be made available for wireless service providers under contract. However, it would be highly unlikely to affect the contract based supply of subsidized phones. The regulations for locked device providers involve unlocking the phones or offering clients the means to unlock their device, of course, at an agreed rate, at no later than three months from the start of the contract. Service providers will do the next thing for unsubsidized devices: unlock them or give the new phone owners the means to unlock the devices at a rate specified beforehand, upon request.

Following the introduction of this bill, the public started to put a lot of pressure on service providers and, as a result, in December 2010, Rogers Communications, made it official to start unlocking all possible handsets for a small, unalterable sum of 50 dollars. Bell or Telus (which are other major service providers) stated that they would also appeal to the new Bill and please customers who would like to have their phones unlocked. Their only condition was for the handsets to operate on their own network and customers to have a postpaid account for at least three months.