The CRTC has ordered wireless service providers to display a unique identifier for standalone Internet service on customers’ bills or self-service portals by September 4, 2027, as part of changes intended to reduce cancellation mistakes when customers switch providers.
In Telecom Decision CRTC 2026-232, issued September 4, 2026, the regulator approved an industry consensus report updating the procedures providers use to handle Internet cancellations. The identifier requirement applies to both carriers and non-carrier wireless providers.
Identifying the right service
The changes address a practical problem with accounts that contain several services. An Internet connection supplied by a wireless provider has an asset number or telephone number linked to the customer’s account, but that number may not appear on an invoice or online portal. Without it, a cancellation request can be harder to process accurately.
The approved approach uses a service-specific identifier to reduce the risk of cancelling the wrong product on an account that might also contain several cellphones, a tablet or a fixed wireless connection.
Providers have been required since 2011 to accept cancellation requests submitted by a prospective new provider on a customer’s behalf. The new decision updates the machinery for carrying out that obligation as more Internet products are sold by wireless providers. It does not create the underlying right to have a new provider submit the request.
Common procedures for different products
The CRTC approved a new cancellation-request type, called LNA I, alongside the existing LNA A process. The old and new providers are to agree which process is appropriate for the service involved.
Related changes allow request fields to accommodate either telephone numbers or asset numbers. Providers are also to exchange information about their products and the provider identifiers needed to route cancellation requests, with requests sent to the wireless provider’s parent company where applicable.
Requests sent to the wrong provider identifier are to be rejected and included in the industry’s monthly rejection calculations. The approved report also calls for guidance to help front-line agents collect the right information from customers.
A separate rule remains for business accounts. The existing local-service-request process can be used to disconnect all Internet services at a location, but a business seeking only a partial disconnection must contact its current provider.
The commission found the agreed changes reasonable and expected them to improve coordination and reduce errors. Its order sets the September 2027 deadline for displaying identifiers; it does not establish that every provider has already implemented the new procedures.
