Previously, Bell only offered free unlocking for current and former customers in response to new regulations banning unlocking fees. Rose Behar, of MobileSyrup, suspects Bell changed its unlocking policy due to public pressure. Behar suspects Bell changed its unlocking policy because Rogers and Telus were more generous with their unlocking rules, and that caused problems for Bell. In December, Belanger contacted the telecom to get a second-hand Bell-locked phone unlocked for free. Sophia Irons, of Calgary, says Bell wouldn't unlock her Bell-locked phone for free in December because she wasn't a customer.

Source: CBC News February 04, 2018 09:00 UTC