CREDIT: STUART GOODEN
No matter which phone you have, there are big changes coming to cellphone contracts across Canada.

We all have an unusual infatuation with our cellphones. It doesn't matter if you're a part of the iPhone clan, Android, Windows Phone or even BlackBerry, there's nothing more valuable than your phone. Thanks to a recent ruling by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), you're about to love your phone a whole lot more.

The CRTC, the body that regulates the wireless industry for Canada, made significant changes to the way we will use our cellphones, and trust me, you're going to like it. On December 2, we can all look forward to more lenient wireless rules alleviating the frustrations we've all been experiencing for far too long.

The new rules include:

- The ability to terminate cellphone contracts after two years, even if their contract is for a longer term

- A limit on data charges at $50 a month and international data roaming charges at $100 a month

- Phones have to be unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if the device has been paid in full

- The ability to return a new phone within 15 days and specific usage limits, if you are unhappy with the service

- The ability to accept or decline changes to the key terms a contract

- A promise to receive a contract that is easy to read and understand

Chad Boutros is the owner of Cellular Magician, and he said that these changes have been a long time coming. “I've been following it for some time now, and to be quite honest, I was really surprised,” he admitted. “I never thought that these changes would take effect.”

We've all been victims of expensive plans with long terms, hefty overage charges, and contracts that look like they've been written in a foreign language. Boutros said the continual consumer complaints to the CRTC about these kinds of issues explain the welcomed new rules. “I think they've been pressured for a long time now to make things a lot more fair on this side of the border,” he said. “In the U.S., all agreements are only two years, and there's just been a big movement for change and I think for the first time we've finally seen some success on that.”

Canada's always been behind the pack when it comes to having a competitive wireless market for consumers, and there's a big reason why. The big three of Canada's wireless industry — Telus, Bell and Rogers — own almost 94 per cent of the entire market.

Boutros said thinks the new changes will help put a dent into what he calls an unfair monopoly. “As a Canadian, what we've seen is that the monopolies out there haven't been treating consumers the way they should,” he said. “For the longest time, we've been locked in, as you know, for three years on all our contracts. We know that cellphones don't last that long.”

He added that when it comes to data coverage and international data roaming charges, cellphone companies have been “outrageous.” “Caps should have been implemented a long time ago. You shouldn't be concerned about getting at $13,000 phone bill because you forgot to turn your phone off while you're traveling and enjoying yourself with your family in Bermuda. It's wrecked a lot of lives.”

The new regulations are good news, but to make up for inevitable losses, there's speculation that carriers will increase the contract prices of their phones.