Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to Stephen Schmidt (TELUS Communications Inc.)
Gatineau, 9 December 2025
Reference: 1011-NOC2016-0293
BY EMAIL
Stephen Schmidt
Vice-President – Telecom Policy & Chief Regulatory Legal Counsel
TELUS Communications Inc.
Floor 5, 215 Slater St.
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 0A6
regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Subject: TELUS’ apparent non-compliance with the Wireless Code’s device unlocking rules
Dear Stephen Schmidt,
It has come to my attention that TELUS has been selling its customers cellphones that are locked for up to 60 days after purchase.
As you are likely aware, Bell Canada and its flanker brand Virgin Plus (collectively, Bell) have also been engaging in this practice since April 2025. The Commission determined that this practice is non-compliant with the Wireless Code’s device unlocking rules as set out in the 28 November 2025 Secretary General letter to Bell.
I would remind you that all wireless service providers are responsible for remaining compliant with the Wireless Code at all times. TELUS should take immediate action to come into compliance with the Wireless Code. This includes ceasing to sell locked cellphones and unlocking, free of charge, any cellphone still locked to TELUS’ network, and notifying the affected customers that it has done so.
If you have any questions, please contact Iva Jurisic, Senior Policy Analyst, at iva.jurisic@crtc.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Nanao Kachi,
Director, Social and Consumer Policy
c.c.:
Guillaume Leclerc, Manager, Social and Consumer Policy, CRTC, Guillaume.leclerc@crtc.gc.ca
Iva Jurisic, Senior Analyst, Social and Consumer Policy, CRTC, iva.jurisic@crtc.gc.ca
- Date modified: