cell phones(Files from Simon Druker and The Canadian Press) It’s “Cell Phone Freedom Day” — a monumental day for anyone locked into an unfriendly cell phone contract or looking to switch providers.

Most people who signed a three-year contract before this day in 2013 are now free to walk away, no questions asked.

Those hugely costly monthly fees that came along with cancelling mid-contract are now a thing of the past. That means the market could soon be flooded with customers looking for a better deal.

“Between 2.2 million and four million subscribers of Rogers, Bell, and Telus — which have the overwhelming majority of cell phone customers — were estimated to still be on three-year contracts at the end of last year,” says analyst Jeff Fan with Scotia Capital.

And the country’s big-three carriers are ready.

“Our community has been telling us that cell phone providers are phoning people all the time with retention offers [and] discounted devices. And [lower] introductory price plans are going to start cropping up all over the place, as they try to attract customers switching from one carrier to another. There’s going to be lots of opportunity for short-term savings if Canadians are in a position to re-enter the market,” says Jeff Tabish with consumer advocacy groupOpenMedia.

But there are some people who are not celebrating “Cell Phone Freedom Day.” The new rules on contracts came first came into effect December 2, 2013. That means anyone who signed up for a three-year contract between June 3, 2013 and December 2, 2013 can still get out with a small penalty.

“The change impacts contracts for the run of 24 months or more. If your contract has not run for 24 months, you may face a small cancellation fee, but those fees are fairly reasonable and are being dictated by the CRTC,” explains Tabish.

The CRTC also announced last month it would begin regulating roaming charges too, capping how much you can be billed.