http://www.hearusnow.org/2006/12/new_cell_phone_unlocking_rules.html
Last week we brought you what we thought was some good news for consumers – a new ruling by the U.S. Copyright Office to allow wireless phone users to break software locks inserted into their handsets by carriers such as Verizon and Cingular.
We’ve since done some additional reporting, however, and it appears this ruling really won’t do much for the average wireless phone user.
Carriers typically use the software locks to keep consumers from using their handsets on competing wireless networks. As long as they own their phones, consumers now appear to have the clear right to break the software locks and use that equipment on any wireless network they choose.
But having the right to break the locks is far different from having the ability to actually do it, points out Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco.
“It is still going to be a pretty daunting task,” says von Lohmann. “Most folks can’t just sit down and write some software to do something like that.”
Even before the ruling last week, a thriving cottage industry had developed to unlock cell phones for consumers for a fee.
Even with the ruling, von Lohmann says it remains unclear if it is legal for consumers to buy such third-party unlocking services.
“There really isn’t anything in the ruling that speaks to that sort of thing,” he says. “It may be legal or it may not. It’s very murky.”
Certain consumers will see some clear benefits from the new rules, however.
Overseas travelers will be able tap into local wireless networks with unlocked phones, likely saving a good deal of money over what they would pay to use their home network.
Consumers who have invested in expensive wireless handsets could potentially unlock them and take them with them if they change providers. But it’s still unclear if their handsets would actually work on the new network. It is also possible that providers could ban or limit the use of unlocked phones on their networks in service contracts.
One group that is very unhappy with the new rules are prepaid wireless companies, such as TracFone and Virgin Mobile. TracFone is so unhappy that it is challenging the new rules in court.
Such companies typically sell handsets at a loss through major retailers such as Wal-Mart, making up the difference by selling service at higher rates than the wireless giants such as Verizon.
Since there are no contracts or termination fees, consumers can go to a store and buy a $60 phone for $20 from a prepaid company, unlock it and then use it on the service of their choice.
The prepaid companies say their livelihood is threatened by individuals and groups that buy up large numbers of their phones, unlock them, and then resell them in overseas markets such as Latin America and Asia.
USA Today has a pretty good article on the Tracfone lawsuit, which you can read here.
The executive director of the Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society, Jennifer Grannick, has a pretty good analysis of the situation on Wired News, which you can read here.
