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FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

techcrunch.com

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Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#41

Post by 999900000999 »

I would love this. However I imagine what most people won't really think about is that if you buy a phone on say AT&t, and then you just decide to stop making payments they can just remotely brick it.

It's going to be really interesting to see how prepaid carriers cope with this. For example you can buy a fully . For example you can buy a fully . For example you can buy a phone much cheaper if it's locked to MetroPCS or another prepaid provider. Since technically you've bought the phone, them bricking it becomes a lot harder to justify.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#42

Post by ThrowawayTestr »

paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Do other countries get subsidised phones with a phone plan?

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#43

Post by Zak »

yyyfb wrote: post #4
toomuchtodo wrote: post #2

Without provisions for equipment installment plans, this would likely end financing of phones by carriers (potentially pushing consumers to higher cost mechanisms, like credit cards or other traditional credit instruments). When locked, the phone is the collateral. Free and clear phones should be unlocked immediately.

Markets exist where SIM locking has been prohibited for a long time (Wikipedia says Canada, Chile, China, Israel, and Singapore at least). Financing still exists in these countries. The phone is absolutely not "collateral". The carrier does not take it back if you default (even if they could, they wouldn't be able to get anything of value for it). Unlocking is just an inconvenience that prevents enough people from ch…

Collateral has two functions:

1. Incentivize the borrower to continue paying so as to not lose the collateral.

2. Allow the lender to recover some of the value of the loan.

A locked phone serves the first purpose because the lender can disable its primary function.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#44

Post by Loughla »

ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #42
paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Do other countries get subsidised phones with a phone plan?

Yeah I'll take a big ass logo on the start screen for a free phone.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#46

Post by enceladus06 »

For a $200 discount I had to deal with the RedPocket 1yr lock. Sort of worth it, but the "are you sure you really want to unlock" and "why do you want to unlock?" questions from the customer service were really annoying. If you pay the $, the phone should be yours.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#48

Post by jobs_throwaway »

Curious we don't see the same dickriding for carriers like AT&T that we do for Apple on HN. All of the same tired arguments of 'you can choose a different carrier if you don't like it' and 'I only feel safe giving grandma a phone that doesn't allow her to do anything outside of the warm teat of Apple' apply perfectly here.

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#49

Post by V__ »

ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #42
paxys wrote: post #35

I don't think people realize that the US is the only market in the world where phones are carrier locked, and in fact the only market where carriers have so much power over the features and overall experience of your phone. Mobile carriers dictate that a phone has to be sold with a locked bootloader. They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates. They are the ones who fill the phone with bloatware. Up until a f…

Do other countries get subsidised phones with a phone plan?

Yes

Re: FCC rule would make carriers unlock all phones after 60 days

#50

Post by pipodeclown »

Detrytus wrote: post #15
yyyfb wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Markets exist where SIM locking has been prohibited for a long time (Wikipedia says Canada, Chile, China, Israel, and Singapore at least). Financing still exists in these countries. The phone is absolutely not "collateral". The carrier does not take it back if you default (even if they could, they wouldn't be able to get anything of value for it). Unlocking is just an inconvenience that prevents enough people from ch…

And in EU, it is technically not prohibited, but haven't really been a thing for a long time. One caveat: carriers do not really pay for your phones. Your phone bill would list two separate charges: service charge, for calls, internet use, etc., and then the monthly payment for your phone. If you add all those monthly payments over the whole contract period you get maybe 5-10% discount to the regular market price.

Yes but what is prohibited in Europe is to hide the cost of the phone in the payments of the cell plan. They must make clear exactly what part of your monthly payment is to pay off the phone and what part is the cell plan. That has basically blown up subsidised phones in Europe..
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