Telus to provide unlocking service

Posted by Jamie Forestell

Effective February 15, Telus will be offering customers the ability to unlock their SIM based cellular devices for a $50 fee.  Customers must be on a monthly plan and have had their cellular device for a minimum of 90 days to qualify.  The move will allow for customers that travel, to insert pre-paid SIM cards to save on roaming and data charges incurred.  Currently personal  customers as well as corporate customers, have the ability of adding on International roaming plans, which average about $30 per month for as little as 10MB of data, and for voice you may get 20 minutes for an additional $15.  Pre Paid local SIM cards offer much greater value for anyone roaming.  The unlocking service also opens the door for anyone looking to leave their current provider, and bring the phone to another carrier.  Rogers and Wind Mobile also provide an unlocking service for the same fee.

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TELUS starts unlocking wireless devices on February 15

TELUS customers enjoy more more flexibility and freedom

Toronto, ON – TELUS today announced that starting February 15, “unlocking” will be available for most SIM-based devices (IDEN and HSPA) for TELUS postpaid customers. This new service is the latest in a series of initiatives to enhance the customer experience at TELUS by providing more flexibility and freedom in the way customers use their wireless devices.

“Wireless devices are far more sophisticated and powerful than they were even five years ago and our customers are asking us now to give them the freedom and flexibility to use these devices as they wish. We are listening and responding to their needs, through services like device unlocking,” said David Fuller, Chief Marketing Officer at TELUS. “It’s all part of our commitment to continue to drive flexibility, simplicity and transparency within our offerings. Over the last few years, we’ve eliminated system access and carrier 911 fees, designed simpler family plans, created proactive alerts that notify customers going over their data allotments, and created options for our customers to upgrade to a new device faster. Helping our customers to unlock their device is just one more step in this overall service evolution.”

Customers subscribing to a monthly plan (postpaid) and using an active and eligible SIM-based device for a minimum of 90 days will be eligible to have their device unlocked for a fee of $50.

TELUS is commited to offering the best overall customer experience in the industry. As a part of our quality mandate, TELUS works closely with leading manufacturers to ensure that their devices are built and tested for optimal performance on TELUS’ network. During that process, TELUS locks the devices in order to maintain TELUS-specific configuration settings such that customers are getting the best possible experience when using applications and services on TELUS’ network.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.7 billion of annual revenue and 12.1 million customer connections including 6.9 million wireless subscribers, 3.8 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and 266,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $185 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 3.5 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

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UPDATE: A Bell spokesman has confirmed they have been providing an unlock service since 2009. The fee is $75 and the customer has to have been in a plan for at least 30 days prior to the unlock.