FuzzyLumpkins
12-12-2013, 06:36 PM
The new deal would assure consumers that they could get their phones "unlocked" at the end of their contract and make the process more uniform among carriers.
The final sticking points in reaching the agreement among carriers and FCC were said to include questions on how fast the new policy would be rolled out, how pre-paid phones would be handled and how to keep unlocked phones off of black markets.
Top providers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US have long allowed consumers to unlock devices and take them to another network at the end of a contract term - commonly, two years - though the process varies by company and can be quite painstaking.
What changed in 2013 was an unexpected ruling from the Library of Congress, which oversees U.S. copyright law and reviews exemptions every three years, that effectively made unlocking illegal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/12/us-usa-wireless-unlocking-idUSBRE9BB05320131212
The final sticking points in reaching the agreement among carriers and FCC were said to include questions on how fast the new policy would be rolled out, how pre-paid phones would be handled and how to keep unlocked phones off of black markets.
Top providers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US have long allowed consumers to unlock devices and take them to another network at the end of a contract term - commonly, two years - though the process varies by company and can be quite painstaking.
What changed in 2013 was an unexpected ruling from the Library of Congress, which oversees U.S. copyright law and reviews exemptions every three years, that effectively made unlocking illegal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/12/us-usa-wireless-unlocking-idUSBRE9BB05320131212