Pssst. We want to let you in on a dirty little secret. Your cell phone has probably been electronically "locked" by your carrier so it won't work should you decide to switch service providers.

That's right. Were it not for these electronic locks slipped in by wireless companies, consumers who own their cell phone would be able to use them with just about any wireless service they choose.

Wireless phone companies don't really want consumers to know these locks have been installed on their phones. And they really don't want consumers to know about a recent ruling by U.S. Copyright Office that said wireless phone users have the right to break those software locks if they own their phones. (You can read our previous blogs on this ruling here and here.)

Despite that ruling, it appears wireless companies are still slipping the locks into their handsets and, in some cases, are rejiggering their contract language to get around the court's decision.

We think these kind of tactics are blatantly anti-consumer. Sure, there are lots of wireless phone companies out there, but it isn't really a competitive market if consumers are prevented from moving easily between service providers.

And it appears this is a uniquely American practice by wireless carriers. Consumers in Europe and Asia are largely able to purchase unlocked cell phones and use them on the carrier network of their choice. All that is usually required is a small card that is inserted into the handset.

Consumers Union and some of our fellow consumer advocacy organizations have asked the Federal Communications Commission to tell wireless carriers to stop locking cell phones. (You can read our comments to the FCC by clicking here)

The comments also raise a bigger issue with the FCC: That consumers should be allowed to connect any sort of device to a wireless network as long as it doesn't harm the network.

That is how it has worked with traditional landline phone networks since the so-called "Carterphone" court decision in 1968. Because of that case, consumers can now go to Staples or Best Buy and purchase virtually any brand of fax machine and hook it up to their phone line. Same with modems, answering machines and portable phones.

The Carterphone decision turned lose a tidal wave of innovation that is still going on today.

That is how a free market is supposed to work. And it is how it should be with wireless devices.

The specific petition now before the FCC involves Skype, the Internet phone service. You can read more about the case at these links:

Skype petitions FCC for open cellular access, CNet News

A Call To Let Your Phone Loose, Washington Post

Skype Asks FCC to Force Open Mobile Networks, PC World

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