Bell and Virgin Axe $80 Connection Fee, But New $40 Charge Debuts

Bell and Virgin have updated their websites to remove the $80 connection fee banned by the CRTC, but customers won’t be getting off entirely fee-free.

Both carriers have introduced a new “one-time device handling charge” of $40 as of today in changes on its website as seen by iPhone in Canada, described as covering “fulfillment costs associated with your device order.” The fee appears on your next bill when ordering a device and does not apply to smartwatches.

The webpages of Bell and Virgin have removed all signs of the $80 connection fee, including support pages.

The change comes after the CRTC ruled in March to ban activation and modification fees for cellphone and internet plans, with the new rules officially taking effect June 12, 2026.

The regulator had ordered carriers to begin complying immediately, calling out the $80 connection fee as a “junk fee” that discouraged Canadians from shopping around for better deals. Rogers, Telus and Bell at the time charged the connection fee at $80 with any new activation that involved a human.

The new $40 device handling charge appears to align with a specific exemption in the CRTC’s ruling. While the regulator has moved to ban general activation fees, the new rules still allow carriers to recover “reasonable” costs associated with physical labour and the fulfillment of hardware orders. By shifting to this model, Bell is tying the fee directly to the logistics of getting a new device into a customer’s hands it seems.

Critics had warned at the time of the ruling that if carriers lost activation fee revenue, costs would likely resurface elsewhere. Bell and Virgin’s move suggests those concerns may be proving out, at least in part. The $40 charge is also noted as being “subject to change over time.”

Rogers and Telus have not yet updated its website to reflect similar changes, yet. It’ll be interesting to see if they also introduce a handling fee for new devices.