Advocacy group claims Verizon and co should be stopped as the practice hurts competition, consumers
A public interest group has asked the Federal Communications Commission to look at whether the wireless industry's voluntary phone unlocking commitments are even effective, claiming the practice harms competition.[PDF] shortly afterwards, arguing the practice of locking phones to a network makes it"more difficult for consumers to change carriers," reduces the number of devices available on the secondary market, and hurts smaller players on the scene.
The nonprofit filed the request as part of an ongoing investigation by the FCC into the State of Competition in the Communications Marketplace, conductedThe group is hoping the agency will throw its weight behind policy efforts to change this. Americans can unlock their handsets from the services of the carrier that sold it to them, but the procedure can be a headache. The fact that consumers can unlock them free of charge came about in 2015, when carriers were told to give customers a"penalty-free" way to unlock them. The Act allows"circumvention to be initiated by the owner" but only"when such connection is authorized by the operator of such network" – after their service contracts expire.
Public Knowledge added that the practice of locking phones disadvantages low-income customers and places a"burden on smaller carriers, new entrants, and MVNOs in particular... due to a lack of handset availability," compounded"by the competitive disadvantages caused by agreements between the handset manufacturers and the larger service provides like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, which smaller carriers may not be able to negotiate.
That"protection" stays in place if you plan to travel abroad and considered buying a local SIM. It helpfully states:"If you are travelling internationally and your device is locked, you can sign up for one of
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