CRTC Warns Bell Over New $40 ‘Device Fee’ That Likely Breaks Federal Rules

The CRTC is calling out Bell over a new $40 fee the company has been charging customers who buy a phone through a wireless plan. After removing the $80 connection fee for Bell and Virgin Plus this week, a new $40 device fee was added for customers who buy a phone from the companies.

In a staff letter sent Wednesday and shared with iPhone in Canada today by the CRTC’s senior communications advisor, the regulator said the so-called “device handling charge” likely breaks rules coming into effect next month.

Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s vice-president of consumer, analytics, and strategy, wrote directly to Philippe Gauvin, Bell Canada’s Assistant General Counsel, arguing the fee looks a lot like an activation charge in disguise. A ban on activation and modification fees kicks in on June 12, 2026, and those rules are specifically meant to stop carriers from using fees as a way to make it harder for customers to switch plans or providers.

“A phone is a device that is required for the delivery of the wireless service customers are purchasing. It would not appear that the device handling charge falls under the exemption considered by the Commission for optional services and products. A fee associated with providing a phone may be considered to be an activation fee that is prohibited under s. 27.04 of the Act,” wrote Hutton. “It is my hope that this situation can be resolved at this stage and will not require more formal regulatory action on the part of the Commission once the prohibition comes into effect.”

Bell’s position seems to be that the charge falls under an exemption the CRTC allows for optional products and services, similar to paying a technician to set up a home Wi-Fi network. The regulator isn’t buying it. Since you need a phone to actually use a wireless plan, the CRTC says the device isn’t optional, and neither is the fee attached to getting one.

The letter was also copied to Nanao Kachi, Director of Social and Consumer Policy, and Guillaume Leclerc, Manager of Social and Consumer Policy at the CRTC.

The regulator said it hopes Bell will sort this out before the new rules officially take effect, avoiding a formal complaint process. The warning fits into a broader push by federal regulators to eliminate junk fees in telecom and make it less painful for Canadians to shop around. We’ve reached out to Bell for a statement and will update this story accordingly.

Update May 7: A Bell spokesperson told iPhone in Canada the following statement, saying, “We introduced this one-time device handling charge as a transactional fee to cover fulfillment costs and it applies only to the optional purchase of a device. This charge does not apply to bring your own phone customers. We are reviewing the CRTC’s letter.”