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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

#81

Post by Brananarchy »

0x5f3759df-i wrote: post #67
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…

Phones only started being unlocked in Canada starting in 2017, so the US isn’t so unique. Though Canada carriers are probably not the standard to hold yourself to.

2017 is quite a long time ago, especially in terms of how long smartphones have been around (and arguably even in terms of how long cell phones have been mainstream).

The US is way behind here.

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

#82

Post by scarface_74 »

dangus wrote: post #26
scarface_74 wrote: post #5

This only helps the credit card companies. There definitely should be an exception to force unlocking if you are on a payment plan. And it will make it harder for the poor and those with bad credit to get a phone. T-Mobile for instance will let you finance a phone regardless of credit once you have been a customer for a year. I believe that some of the MVNOs will even let you get up to a midrange phone like an older…

T-Mobile doesn’t even lock their device payment plan phones last I checked.

They very much do.

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

#83

Post by yyyfb »

Molitor5901 wrote: post #20
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…

It's purely anti-competitive and anti-consumer.

There's been kind of a silver lining consumer benefit, historically. In early years, SIM locking allowed carriers in Europe to subsidize device cost based on expected revenue, effectively offering financing outside of the financial system, and benefiting a set of customers who wouldn't otherwise have been eligible for normal credit.

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

#85

Post by entropyie »

miki123211 wrote: post #68
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…

Keep in mind that in Europe, some phones are still under carrier control, despite not technically being locked. You can resell the phone and use it with any carrier you wish, but as soon as the original owner stops paying the bill, the phone becomes remote-locked and turns into a brick. Samsung's Knox can do this, not sure which other brands also have that option.

I've never seen this in practice in the EU, so it can't be common at least.

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

#86

Post by icepat »

WD-42 wrote: post #29
icepat wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, because in Canada at least, if you terminate your contract, you have to pay out the phone. That's how it's done. Really, it's not a complicated solution.

Sounds like a reasonable thing consumers should be able to do.

Consumer protections in Canada are terrible, but in the very least they're not anti-consumer.

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

#87

Post by dv_dt »

SR2Z wrote: post #75
toomuchtodo wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then a lot of folks who finance phones on cheap or free installment plans currently won’t get phones, simple as that. If regulators are fine with that, that’s a reasonable position I suppose. Carriers aren’t a charity to take on aggressive credit risk in these financial consumer populations. Incentives->outcomes.

Most Americans can afford a $300 phone, and that's enough to buy a pretty solid Android phone or a used iPhone. Carriers will just make people sign two-year contracts at a guaranteed rate, plus an early exit fee. This is how all kinds of predatory scams work; the carriers will do just fine and low-income people will continue to get the newest iPhone.

Yup, arguably in the wider scale, more accessible unlocked phones will become available on the used market, serving low-income people better. Right now there are many locked phones on the used market, both wasteful and difficult to navigate.

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

#88

Post by LocalH »

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…

> They decide if/when the phone should get OS updates.

That's an Android issue. iPhones have no such issue.

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

#89

Post by 0x5f3759df-i »

Brananarchy wrote: post #81
0x5f3759df-i wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phones only started being unlocked in Canada starting in 2017, so the US isn’t so unique. Though Canada carriers are probably not the standard to hold yourself to.

2017 is quite a long time ago, especially in terms of how long smartphones have been around (and arguably even in terms of how long cell phones have been mainstream). The US is way behind here.

In terms of changing laws and regulations? No, not really.

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

#90

Post by Anduia »

sgift wrote: post #66
Anduia wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In which country?

Rather typical in Germany (they usually do it via Schufa, but the end result is the same). No idea for other countries.

In UK is similar to Germany, but for the rest of EU they will simply ask for an ID and a bank account. Some just do a credit card check.
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