I issued the following statement after submitting a letter to the FCC on the voluntary set of six principles for unlocking of consumers’ mobile phones and tablets
:
“We are pleased to announce AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless agreed to adopt a voluntary set of six principles for unlocking of consumers’ mobile phones and tablets
“We believe this agreement will continue to foster the world-leading range of devices and offerings that Americans enjoy today. The robust and differentiated technological ecosystem has brought unparalleled and world-leading benefits to American wireless users, in the form of high-end and affordable devices, post- and pre-paid options, and with the world’s most advanced devices being launched first in the United States.
“It is important that consumers know that unlocking devices may not necessarily mean full interoperability since devices that work on one provider’s network may not be technologically compatible with another wireless provider’s network. Additionally, unlocking a device may enable some functionality of the device but not all (e.g., an unlocked device may support voice services but not data services when activated on a different network).
“We look forward to working with the FCC and the participating wireless providers to educate consumers on the technical aspects of unlocking.”
About stinking time!
Per the voluntary agreement, 3 of the principles will be deployed within 3 months of adoption and the remainder principles deployed in 12 months.
Did the CTIA outline for the carriers which of the principles will be deployed at the 3 and 6 month intervals? Will each carrier deploy the same principles at the same time?
Without an agreed upon standard, consumers may be still be bound to a specific carrier if the principles are deployed at the carriers’ discretion.
It will be up to the participating providers to determine the three out of the six they choose to execute within 3 months (just like the wireless usage alerts).
OK I read the letter and I am concerned that the 6 principles are unfavorable to postpaid customers who buy phones at a subsidized price and sign a contract
1) Phone Carries currently do not disclose to the customer that the new phone CANNOT be unlocked during the contract term and this point becomes more critical since a lot of cost-minded customers take advantage of the trade-in programs by turning in their old phone which leaves them high and dry when they want to travel internationally.
2) Locking an under contract phone is so unnecessary since the customer can not cancel the phone number (without huge penalties) anyways during the contract term.
In my humble opinion layman who have to travel for family reasons will still we severely inconvenienced even after these changes and I don’t think the carriers have made any significant steps to support and help their loyal customers.
If they want ideas I would suggest ‘Temporary Unlocking’ allowing the customers to unlock their phones for a specific duration.
Has the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service adopted this agreement yet? Wondering when the clock will start ticking for the carries to start adopting these principles?
Yes, it has been updated. Per the agreement (http://www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service), carriers further agree to implement three of the standards articulated above within 3 months from February 11, 2014. Carriers further commit to implement the remainder of the principles within 12 months from February 11, 2014.