Over a month after Rogers and Fido jacked connection fees to $60 from $70, Telus and Koodo have joined the party.
As of August 30th, both wireless providers now list $70 connection fees on their respective websites, up from the $60 price they hit last year. Telus charges this fee for “in-store and call center upgrades and activations” but typically waives the fee for online purchases.
Connection fee hikes aren’t uncommon, with the Big Three carriers all raising prices by $5-$10 on a nearly annual basis since 2013 (there were even two increases in 2020!).
Fine print on the Telus website outlining the new $70 connection fee.
However, it’s possible this price hike could be one last hurrah for connection fees. In the 2024 budget, the federal government said it wanted to prohibit carriers “from charging consumers extra fees to switch carriers.” That landed in Bill C-69, which received royal assent on June 20th, 2024. After Rogers raised its fee to $70 in July, the CRTC issued a request for information regarding the fee, asking Rogers to explain how the change was consistent with the prohibition on fees.
With Telus now raising fees, it remains to be seen what, if anything, the commission does about connection fees. Meanwhile, it might be worth reading up on how to avoid connection fees so you don’t get dinged for $70 next time you switch providers.
Bell, at the time of writing, still charged $60 connection fees.
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