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El Reg reports [theregister.co.uk]

Canada has ruled that cellphone networks may no longer charge fees for carrier-unlocking handsets nor sell new phones locked to their network.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said that as of December 1 of this year, phone sellers will be barred from selling handsets locked to a specific carrier, and all carriers will be required to unlock customer handsets for free.

The change is part of a larger overhaul the CRTC has made to Canada's Wireless Code [crtc.gc.ca], a set of consumer rights guidelines the CRTC manages.

In addition to the unlocking rules, the CRTC also mandated that any new charges from overage fees or roaming charges be approved by the primary account holder. This applies mainly to shared family plans, where the parent who owns the account will now need to give permission before racking up additional charges.

The rules on free trial periods have also been changed, allowing customers to return a phone and cancel a plan within 15 days, provided the device is still in new or like-new condition and less than half of the data in the monthly plan has been used.

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