Telus is the latest Canadian carrier to replace its connection fee with another fee. Per internal documents reviewed by MobileSyrup, the Vancouver-based carrier will start charging a $15 SIM fee on June 11, 2026.
The move comes after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) officially blocked carriers from charging fees that discourage switching plans, such as activation and connection fees. The new rules come into effect on June 12.
According to the documents, Telus’ SIM fee will apply to both physical SIM cards and eSIMs for all new activations. The fee will appear on the first bill customers receive in the ‘add-on’ section. However, web orders remain exempt from this fee (instead, Telus will charge a $25 shipping fee in some cases). Renewing customers will also avoid the fee.
Presumably, the change will extend to Telus’ flanker brands, like Koodo, as well. MobileSyrup only viewed documents related to Telus specifically and has reached out to the carrier about additional details.
The document stresses that the SIM fee “cannot be waived” and “will always be charged.” It also lays out defensive arguments for the new fee, noting it covers costs like “manufacturing, licensing, procurement, inventory management, warehousing, packaging, shipping and distribution, retail handling, network provisioning, digital credential, fraud prevention, platform licensing, system configuration, and customer support associated with issuing and enabling a new SIM.”
Telus docs defends SIM fees
In a FAQ section, the internal document notes that Telus previously included the SIM fee in the $80 connection fee, but now that those fees are banned, Telus is breaking out the SIM fee separately.
Another part of the FAQ section defends Telus’ decision to apply the $15 fee to eSIMs. As a quick reminder, eSIMs are an alternative to physical SIM cards that are embedded in most modern smartphones (and in the case of some devices, like newer iPhones, are the only SIM option). Since eSIMs are built into smartphones, there’s no need for a physical SIM, and people can manage their eSIM right from the settings on their phone.
The Telus FAQ argues that even though there’s no physical card, eSIMs “involve real backend work” like provisioning and managing secure credentials, providing technical support, and maintaining the infrastructure that manages eSIMs. Telus says the $15 fee “reflects those product costs.”
CRTC may disagree
But while Telus is adamant that its new $15 fee won’t violate the new CRTC rules, it will be interesting to see how the commission responds.
Last month, Bell responded to the new rules by replacing its $80 connection fee with a $40 device handling charge. However, the CRTC argued in a letter to Bell that carriers can’t charge fees for products that are required for delivering telecommunications services. It said that phones are one such necessary device, and that the device handling fee could violate the new rules.
Under similar logic, Telus’ new $15 SIM fee might also violate the rules, since the SIM card is a required product for delivering telecom services.
