CRTC regulators have rejected a plan by Canada’s top telecom providers that would have done away with connection fees for new and returning customers, while increasing local phone rates by $0.58 to $1.00 per month to compensate for the lost revenue.

The country’s two biggest telephone operators, Bell Canada and Telus Corp., were behind the proposal, which met significant opposition from customers. A total of 2,600 people from across Canada wrote letters urging regulators to reject the plan.

CRTC vice chairman, Richard French, says that his organization is happy to let Bell and Telus waive the connection fees, didn’t think it was fair to force other clients to pick up the slack.

The companies are free to apply to us to reduce or eliminate connection charges in the interest of meeting competitive pressures, and we would dispose of those applications very rapidly, French said in an interview.