Telecom - Commission Letter addressed to the Distribution List
Ottawa, 10 February 2022
Our reference: 8665-C12-202000280
Via Email
Distribution List
RE: Unauthorized Mobile Telephone Number Transfers and SIM Swapping
Since becoming aware of concerns regarding unauthorized mobile telephone number transfers and SIM swapping in Canada, the Commission has been gathering data from Canadian mobile carriers (MCs) related to these matters as well as information on the MCs’ actions to curb these fraudulent activities.Footnote1
Commission staff would like to thank the MCs for being actively engaged in working to resolve these issues and for having succeeded in significantly reducing the occurrence of these fraudulent activities. As a result of MCs’ efforts, there has been a significant decline in the total number of unauthorized mobile telephone numbers transfers and SIM swaps.Footnote2
Going forward, the request for information is modified such that MCs will only be required to file the data as follows:
- Provide, separately for each wireless brand operated by your company or affiliates, the monthly data for January 2022 to June 2022 inclusive, as was requested in the Commission staff letter dated 28 May 2020, to question 1d.
- Provide the number of unauthorized customer transfers (ports), separately for each wireless brand operated by your company or affiliates and separately for prepaid and postpaid accounts, only when in a given month, across all brands (prepaid and postpaid combined), the total number reaches the level of a two-digit number.
- Comment on your data, including (but not limited to): any significant variations with previous months and any trends observed; describe any new process, initiative, measure, or other activity that has been implemented that may have an impact on the data; and describe any new measure that is being contemplated that may have an impact on future data.
Please note that while mobile carriers are no longer to provide the total number of customer transfers and SIM swaps or the total number of unauthorized customer transfers on a monthly basis (1a., 1b. and 1c. in the Commission staff letter dated 28 May 2020), Commission staff could request this data at a later date.
Process
The information requested above for the previous month’s data is to be filed monthly, as required, by the second Monday of each month.
In the event that a company may file any updates or corrections to information submitted for previous months, it shall clearly identify to which month(s) the updates apply.
To the extent that information is submitted in confidence pursuant to section 39 of the Telecommunications Act, an abridged version of all submissions must be provided for the public record. A copy of this letter and all related correspondence will be added to the public record.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Michel Murray
Director, Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Implementation
Telecommunications Sector
c.c.: Eric Smith, CWTA, esmith@cwta.ca
Ursula Grant, CWTA, ugrant@cwta.ca
John Lawford, PIAC, jlawford@piac.ca
Distribution List:
Bell Mobility Inc., bell.regulatory@bell.ca
Bragg Communications Incorporated (carrying on business as Eastlink), Regulatory.Matters@corp.eastlink.ca
Rogers Communications Canada Inc., rwi_gr@rci.rogers.com
Saskatchewan Telecommunications, document.control@sasktel.com
Shaw Telecom Inc., Regulatory@sjrb.ca
TbayTel, rob.olenick@tbaytel.com
TELUS Communications Inc., regulatory.affairs@telus.com
Videotron Ltd., regaffairs@quebecor.com
Xplore Mobile Inc., carl.macquarrie@corp.xplornet.com
- Date modified: