Unlocking cellphones without carrier permission will be illegal come Saturday
Mikey CampbellApple sells factory unlocked iPhone 5 models at unsubsidized prices. | Source: Apple
As per U.S. federal stipulation, the unauthorized unlocking of certain cellphones will be considered illegal, and enforcement is set to start with new phones purchases made from Saturday onward.
The new rule is a result of the Librarian of Congress' decision to dissolve an exemption to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which previously allowed mobile phones to be unlocked by users. While the determination came in October of 2012, Tech News Daily pointed out that the librarian provided a 90-day buffer in which wireless customers could purchase and unlock their phones. That period ends on Saturday.
Cellular providers "lock" the phones they sell to their proprietary network bands to stop people from using a competing carrier's service. The practice is meant in part to ensure subscription revenues from customers who purchased subsidized hardware, like the iPhone. By unlocking a phone, owners can use their handsets on other compatible networks, a plus for frequent travelers and those wanting to switch carriers.
Users can readily purchase unlocked handsets like the iPhone 5 directly from Apple, while AT&T offers an unlocking service for out of contract phones. It was also reported in September that the Verizon version of Apple's latest iPhone comes unlocked out of the box.
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97 Comments
My device, my rules.
Is there operationally any difference between a user unlocked device and a carrier unlocked one? Aside from needing to redo it each software update, that is. If not, it doesn't matter, as the telecoms won't be able to tell.
To make it clear again, it's just phones sold after that date, correct? All phones purchased prior to it are still legally user-unlockable, right?
[quote name="Tallest Skil" url="/t/155627/unlocking-cellphones-without-carrier-permission-will-be-illegal-come-saturday#post_2264355"]My device, my rules. Is there operationally any difference between a user unlocked device and a carrier unlocked one? Aside from needing to redo it each software update, that is. If not, it doesn't matter, as the telecoms won't be able to tell. To make it clear again, it's just phones sold after that date, correct? All phones purchased prior to it are still legally user-unlockable, right? [/quote] The difference is $450.
The difference is $450.
…operationally…
Good to know, though.
[quote name="Tallest Skil" url="/t/155627/unlocking-cellphones-without-carrier-permission-will-be-illegal-come-saturday#post_2264355"]My device, my rules. Is there operationally any difference between a user unlocked device and a carrier unlocked one? Aside from needing to redo it each software update, that is. If not, it doesn't matter, as the telecoms won't be able to tell. To make it clear again, it's just phones sold after that date, correct? All phones purchased prior to it are still legally user-unlockable, right? [/quote] If you brought your phone from the carriers, they'll have your IMEI, and if the telcoms colluded to do so, they could theoretically blacklist any IMEI that was sold on another carrier. Doubtful anything like that will happen, but still makes me wish the European system was more prevalent here.
Telecoms throwing money at the lawmakers to get what they want.