PhoneUnlocking
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FCC FTW: wireless telcos agree to more consumer-friendly phone unlocking policies
About a month ago, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler gave the U.S. wireless industry an ultimatum: choose to get on board with unlocking people's phones or face regulatory action forcing it to do so. Today, the CTIA -- the wireless industry trade association -- and Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular have acceded to Wheeler's demands by recommending that his policies be incorporated into the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service. According to a letter sent to by the CTIA to the FCC, this means that the telcos mentioned above "will move quickly to implement these principles" in total within a year. In case you forgot, this means that within 12 months those companies will: provide a clear, concise and readily accessible policy on unlocking unlock mobile devices for legitimate owners of those devices once their service contract has been fulfilled notify customers when their devices are eligible to be unlocked and/or automatically unlock those devices for free (but they can charge a reasonable if you aren't a current customer) unlock devices or provide an explanation of a denial of any unlock requests within two days unlock devices for military service men and women upon deployment For its part, the FCC was gracious in victory, with Chairman Wheeler stating during an open Commission meeting today that he was happy that a cooperative agreement was reached in a speedy manner and that "this is the way things should work." Fellow commissioner Ajit Pai chimed in as well, stating that he was glad that the "specter of jail time for those who unlock their phones" was now removed, but that the policy change isn't enough. Pai went on to call on Congress to fix the flaws with US Copyright law that are the underlying root of the problem, and he hopes that this shift in CTIA policy will "help expedite the legislative process." Time will tell if our governmental's legislative arm heeds the executive's advice -- don't hold your breath.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler tells carriers to get on board with his plan to let people unlock their phones... or else
Congress, the White House and the FCC's new chairman Tom Wheeler have all come out in favor of setting our phones free, but the telcos who can actually grant our handsets liberty have been slow to heed the governmental call. Because of that, Wheeler sent a veiled threat letter to the CTIA imploring it to amend its Consumer Code to include a policy ensuring our rights to get our phones unlocked once we're off contract. Apparently, the FCC has been working with the CTIA for eight months to craft a policy that requires telcos to: provide a clear, concise and readily accessible policy on unlocking unlock mobile devices for legitimate owners of those devices once their service contract has been fulfilled notify customers when their devices are eligible to be unlocked and/or automatically unlock those devices for free unlock devices or provide an explanation of a denial of any unlock requests within two days unlock devices for military service men and women upon deployment The two sides are in agreement with four of the five requirements, with the only sticking point being the bit about service providers having to notify us when our devices are eligible to be unlocked. Tom Wheeler, however, isn't willing to see The Wireless Association's side of things because "absent the consumer's right to be informed about unlocking eligibility, any voluntary program would be a hollow shell." Furthermore, he wants the new unlock policy put in place before the holidays this year, whether by the CTIA's voluntary or the FCC's regulatory action. Looks like we'll be getting phone freedom for Christmas this year. We like the sound of that.
FCC chairman nominee Tom Wheeler comes out in favor of legalized phone unlocking
He was nominated to replace Julius Genachowski as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission a mere six weeks ago, and before he's even got the job, Tom Wheeler's making headlines. Ars Technica reports that would-be chairman Wheeler wants what many (all?) cell phone owners want -- the ability to unlock our phones free from fear of legal retribution. The way he sees things, when folks have bought and paid for their phones and are contract-free, they "ought to have the right to use the device and move it across carriers." Unfortunately, while he's staked out his position on the matter, he has yet to say exactly how he plans to make phone unlocking legal, be it through legislation or other means. The good news is, he's not the boss just yet, so he's got time to address those niggling details while he waits to be confirmed as the new chairman.
The Daily Roundup for 03.08.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Professor singles out mobile carriers for stifling cellphone innovation
Do you believe that mobile carriers are to controlling in the actual design (hardware and software) of cellular handsets these days? If so, you'll probably love an opinion paper by Columbia law professor Timothy Wu. Wu suggests that cellphone design and innovation is being inhibited by cellular service providers. We all know why this happens, of course -- the carriers love the walled garden policy of controlling how and why subscribers use their handsets. Usually, the design of a carrier-branded handset is geared to goose subscribers into more services and more add-ons. But, the GSM world knows all to well that "free and open" handsets don't have these annoyances at all, much to the chagrin of the carriers (like AT&T and T-Mobile USA). Are the policies of carriers hurting consumers? Wu makes his case by bringing up features that are blocked by many carriers which come native with many handsets before being disabled by carriers. Features like WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, advanced SMS, browsers and photo and sound file transfer capabilities. The biggie that caught our eyes? Real-time call timers. You go, Mr. Wu -- stick it to the man.
