Letter to FCC: Why are US carriers locking handsets to networks?
(2022/09/20)
- Reference: 1663683485
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/09/20/fcc_phone_locking_public_knowledge/
- Source link:
A public interest group has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to look at whether the wireless industry's voluntary phone unlocking commitments are even effective, claiming the practice harms competition.
The advocacy group, Public Knowledge, met with FCC staffers last week and filed the [1]comment [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, conducted [2]biennially [PDF] by the agency.
[3]
The group is hoping the agency will throw its weight behind policy efforts to change this.
[4]
[5]
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 [6]under the [7]Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act . The Act allows "circumvention (unlocking) 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."
[8]
Verizon, for example, says in its [9]FAQs that all smartphones the comms giant or any of its retail partners sells are locked for at least 60 days from purchase, even when you've paid full retail price or paid off your device payment agreement early. It claims the policy helps to "prevent theft and protect customers from fraud."
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 [10]Verizon's international services " – and no Wi-Fi calling if it's not to the US. Under its TravelPass package, "Wi-Fi calling to a country other than the US is charged [at] [11]international long distance rates , regardless of whether or not you have an international travel plan." Good to know.
T-Mobile has an exception for deployed military personnel, though they have to show their deployment papers.
[12]
As America's second biggest carrier (110 million subscribers in [13]Q2 2022 to [14]Verizon's 142.8 million ), [15]T-Mobile holds that it'll only unlock a "postpaid" device if it's been "active on the T‑Mobile network for at least 40 days on the requesting line" and they can't have asked for "more than two mobile device unlocks ... per line of service in the last 12 months."
[16]AT&T Wireless , meanwhile, allows customers to unlock their devices immediately if they were paid in full when you bought it. Those on an installment plan or contract have to wait 60 days to unlock it.
[17]Testing of Starlink internet under way in Antarctica
[18]Revealed: US telcos admit to storing, handing over location data
[19]T-Mobile US and SpaceX hope to deliver phone service from space
[20]US national parks to be smothered under blanket of liquid-hot Magma. Yes, the open-source 5G software
[21]In Canada, as of 2013 , consumers can "have their cellphones unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if they paid for the device in full."
The policy across Europe is mixed, but the UK's mobile networks have been forbidden by the country's comms regulator Ofcom from selling phones locked to their services from last year. [22]The last day you could sell a locked phone was December 16, 2021 , with the regulator saying that "almost half of customers who try to unlock their phone have difficulties doing so – including long delays or loss of service." Brits who want to change mobile provider can use a " [23]text-to-switch process " where they get the code they need after sending a free SMS.
Speaking about the so-called "locked-access policy of US wireless carriers" as long ago as 2007, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt [24]noted while talking at a Google Analyst Day that lockup "really slowed down innovation." ®
Get our [25]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/20/pk_letter.pdf
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/20/fcc_req_for_comment_may_2022.pdf
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2014/08/02/unlock_your_mobile_phone/
[7] https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1123
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.verizon.com/support/device-locking-faqs/
[10] https://www.verizon.com/support/travelpass-faqs/
[11] https://www.verizon.com/solutions-and-services/international-long-distance-in-us/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://investor.t-mobile.com/events-and-presentations/news/news-details/2022/T-Mobile-to-Host-Q2-2022-Earnings-Call-on-July-27-2022/default.aspx
[14] https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-reports-2q-and-first-half-2022-results
[15] https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy
[16] https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1262649
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/15/starlink_antarctica/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/us_carriers_fcc_data_report/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/26/tmobile_spacex_phone/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/07/freedomfi_5g/
[21] https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2013/2013-271.htm?_ga=2.212893780.1545114499.1663674657-1606623533.1663674657
[22] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2021/mobile-companies-now-banned-from-selling-locked-handsets
[23] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/switching/switching-mobile-phone-provider
[24] https://www.barrons.com/articles/BL-TB-5036
[25] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The advocacy group, Public Knowledge, met with FCC staffers last week and filed the [1]comment [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, conducted [2]biennially [PDF] by the agency.
[3]
The group is hoping the agency will throw its weight behind policy efforts to change this.
[4]
[5]
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 [6]under the [7]Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act . The Act allows "circumvention (unlocking) 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."
[8]
Verizon, for example, says in its [9]FAQs that all smartphones the comms giant or any of its retail partners sells are locked for at least 60 days from purchase, even when you've paid full retail price or paid off your device payment agreement early. It claims the policy helps to "prevent theft and protect customers from fraud."
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 [10]Verizon's international services " – and no Wi-Fi calling if it's not to the US. Under its TravelPass package, "Wi-Fi calling to a country other than the US is charged [at] [11]international long distance rates , regardless of whether or not you have an international travel plan." Good to know.
T-Mobile has an exception for deployed military personnel, though they have to show their deployment papers.
[12]
As America's second biggest carrier (110 million subscribers in [13]Q2 2022 to [14]Verizon's 142.8 million ), [15]T-Mobile holds that it'll only unlock a "postpaid" device if it's been "active on the T‑Mobile network for at least 40 days on the requesting line" and they can't have asked for "more than two mobile device unlocks ... per line of service in the last 12 months."
[16]AT&T Wireless , meanwhile, allows customers to unlock their devices immediately if they were paid in full when you bought it. Those on an installment plan or contract have to wait 60 days to unlock it.
[17]Testing of Starlink internet under way in Antarctica
[18]Revealed: US telcos admit to storing, handing over location data
[19]T-Mobile US and SpaceX hope to deliver phone service from space
[20]US national parks to be smothered under blanket of liquid-hot Magma. Yes, the open-source 5G software
[21]In Canada, as of 2013 , consumers can "have their cellphones unlocked after 90 days, or immediately if they paid for the device in full."
The policy across Europe is mixed, but the UK's mobile networks have been forbidden by the country's comms regulator Ofcom from selling phones locked to their services from last year. [22]The last day you could sell a locked phone was December 16, 2021 , with the regulator saying that "almost half of customers who try to unlock their phone have difficulties doing so – including long delays or loss of service." Brits who want to change mobile provider can use a " [23]text-to-switch process " where they get the code they need after sending a free SMS.
Speaking about the so-called "locked-access policy of US wireless carriers" as long ago as 2007, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt [24]noted while talking at a Google Analyst Day that lockup "really slowed down innovation." ®
Get our [25]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/20/pk_letter.pdf
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/20/fcc_req_for_comment_may_2022.pdf
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2014/08/02/unlock_your_mobile_phone/
[7] https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1123
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.verizon.com/support/device-locking-faqs/
[10] https://www.verizon.com/support/travelpass-faqs/
[11] https://www.verizon.com/solutions-and-services/international-long-distance-in-us/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YynjlO0elFgNJQksD6BC7AAAAQw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://investor.t-mobile.com/events-and-presentations/news/news-details/2022/T-Mobile-to-Host-Q2-2022-Earnings-Call-on-July-27-2022/default.aspx
[14] https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-reports-2q-and-first-half-2022-results
[15] https://www.t-mobile.com/responsibility/consumer-info/policies/sim-unlock-policy
[16] https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1262649
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/15/starlink_antarctica/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/us_carriers_fcc_data_report/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/26/tmobile_spacex_phone/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/07/freedomfi_5g/
[21] https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2013/2013-271.htm?_ga=2.212893780.1545114499.1663674657-1606623533.1663674657
[22] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2021/mobile-companies-now-banned-from-selling-locked-handsets
[23] https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/costs-and-billing/switching/switching-mobile-phone-provider
[24] https://www.barrons.com/articles/BL-TB-5036
[25] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Got screwed by Xfinity Mobile
Anonymous Coward
(US) Bought an unlocked phone directly from Apple, used on Xfinity's network for a bit till the kid went over to Europe for a semester. $10/day was a little steep so ended up getting a local plan.
After 7 days of talking to Xfinity and Apple and escalating, Xfinity said that Apple has to unlock as we didn't buy the phone from them. Really burns my ass was the Xfinity guy saying to bring the phone back to the US for unlocking.
Ended up trading in the phone, thus bypassing the issue. Still cost over $1000.
Buy from the Mfr
Bryan Hall
Why would anyone buy a phone from a carrier? That's just asking for trouble.
Waiting period...
Marty McFly
I tried to buy my wife a new iPhone at the T-Mobile store. Pay in full, in cash. Been a customer with them for nearly 20 years (via their Sprint acquisition), so this is not like some unknown customer trying to get a phone with a bad credit card. They refused to sell me an unlocked phone, and insisted I endure a waiting period.
They lost the sale. I went over to the Apple store and got the same phone for the same price. Unlocked.
Sprint has gone in the crapper since the T-Mobile acquisition. We will probably switch to a different carrier at some time. The problem is they are all just different fleas on the same dog. If just one of them actually gave a shit about their customers they would dominate the market. A human on the phone within 30 seconds, and not a robo call tree. Then that human is authorized to use their brain to solve the problem. Crazy talk, I know. It is like they are all in a race to see who can be the worst.
Legislation and regulation - two things that keep you out of golden cages and prisons
This goes to show, that companies see the consumers more like potential inmates than customers.
This also helps business: if a "customer" is chained to your brand like an involuntary oarsman on a galley of ancient times, you can move all the moneys that would have been wasted in marketing and customer service straight into the profits department.
-> I seem to have misplaced my get-out-of-jail card somewhere