Unlocked cell phones are fast gaining in popularity as the general public pushes for freedom of choice when it comes to their phones and service providers. With the stiff competition among providers to offer a better phone or better service plan, some providers have chosen to lock the handsets they sell so that it will only recognize SIM cards from that provider. Unlocked phones give consumers the ability to buy a headset of their choice from one provider and purchase the plan that best suits them from another provider. While having cell phones unlocked is always preferable to the consumer, service providers defend the action with the fact that they typically offer cell phones for free or at heavily discounted rates in combination with some of their service plans. If the service is not used, the service provider gains little to nothing. There is a school of thought that once the service contract expires, consumers should ideally be permitted to have their cell phones unlocked.
The controversy over unlocked mobile phones has led to legal action against a number of service providers. Class action lawsuits against carriers such as Verizon and Sprint resulted in their agreement to provide the software code for unlocked cell phones once the customer’s service contract expires. T-Mobile and AT&T (the exclusive service provider of the popular iPhone), however, have fought a long legal battle in California in defense against allowing their customers to file lawsuits over unlocked cell phones. In 2008, the California Supreme Court rejected AT&T’s motion that their customers honor the fine print in their contract, which had restricted consumers unhappy with the policy against unlocked mobile phones from seeking damages in court rather than through binding arbitration. As a result, customers of the two companies are now free to file class action lawsuits to have their cell phones unlocked. AT&T is likely to be the most affected of the four companies since the iPhone has proven to be an extremely popular cell phone.
This judgment in favor of consumers who want their cell phones unlocked will also require amendments to the 1998 anti-piracy measure instituted by the DMCA. The U.S. Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress will need to examine how the law’s current provision, which makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures controlling access to copyrighted material, will affect consumers who are now permitted to have their cell phones unlocked. The current exemption permits consumers to get their cell phones unlocked when done for the sole purpose of legally connecting to any network service provider.
As a result of the changes instituted by the courts, unlocked mobile phones are no longer a risky proposition that require trusting in hacks from dubious sources. Previously, consumers were able to get their cell phones unlocked by third party services that performed this function for a standard fee. However, there was no guarantee that the unlocked phones would work correctly or that all proprietary settings would be removed. The unlocked phone would also need to be unbranded through advanced procedures to switch the internal firmware in order to allow it to access all the features of the new service provider. This would make it a completely unlocked cell phone but carried a large risk if the firmware was not updated properly. There was also a risk of rendering the phone completely inoperable if it was unlocked improperly through an incorrect hack code. Further, if the wrong code is applied too many times, the phone may become hard-locked and reject all future attempts to enter a code unless special equipment is used to break this secondary lock.
That said, unlocked cell phones are not necessarily impossible to get at the time of the original purchase. Consumers who are willing to spend the extra coin can purchase unlocked mobile phones from third party vendors. These unlocked phones are bought brand new without the proprietary settings having been changed to suit any particular provider. While the cost of these unlocked cell phones is close to the full retail price, consumers can rest assured that they have a phone that will work with any SIM card that, depending on the quality of the phone and protective accessories they buy, will last them long enough to justify the higher price.
To get a cell phone unlocked, the service agent enters a special code or enables an over-the-air transmission from the carrier. The unlocked cell phone is typically in this unlocked state permanently from that point on. If the user does not have an unlocked mobile phone, they see a request for the unlock code when they attempt to use a restricted SIM card in that phone. Some companies offer a mail in service for their customers to mail the company the cell phone to be unlocked. These services usually come with a money-back guarantee and do not require the customer to understand the technical workings of the phone in order to get their cell phone unlocked. Other companies provide codes for unlocked mobile phones via email, but there is some risk involved due to the easy availability of fake number generators that could be used by spammers.
In addition to locking a phone to service provider or network, other locks on cell phones include restricting their use to a particular country (to where it will not work in any other country) and to a particular type of SIM card. Across the world, Singapore is currently the only country that expressly disallows the practice of locking phones or bundling them with contracts. Unlocked cell phones are easily available to all consumers here. Some countries, such as Brazil and France, the law permits SIM locks provided that the customer is informed of the presence of this lock. Consumers in Brazil also have the right to request that their cell phones be unlocked at no extra charge at any time. Other countries, like Denmark, require that cell phones be unlocked for free after a certain time period. The United Kingdom, in contrast, does not have any laws against locking phones or require that consumers be given a code to have their cell phones unlocked. Consumers in the United Kingdom who want their cell phones unlocked can request this service for a fee at the end of their service contract.
