Unlock phones or we'll unlock them for you, FCC chair tells carriers
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, has called upon US carriers to unlock smart phones.
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, has called upon US carriers to unlock smart phones.
The chair of the Federal Communications Commission,聽Tom Wheeler, is publicly calling for wireless carriers to unlock phones for American consumers.聽
In a letter to聽Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, an organization that represents the telecom industry, Mr. Wheeler wrote that it "is now time for the industry to act voluntarily or for the FCC to regulate." In other words, carriers can comply with the FCC request, or they can be forced by the FCC to do so.聽
Wheeler called for a five-part policy that would do the following (the full draft of the letter is here):聽
For consumers, the benefit of such a policy is clear. Let's say you've purchased an Apple iPhone 5S聽for $199, with a two-year contract through AT&T. Under the status quo, once that two-year contract has expired, you can renew your contract or let it lapse, but if you choose the former, you'll remain yoked to AT&T. Under the FCC proposal, post-contract, you'd have the ability to purchase voice and data plans from any of the carriers in the US.聽
Unlocked phones amount, essentially, to choice. And in an interview with All Things D, Wheeler,聽who only took the chairmanship of the FCC this fall, said he hoped "to be the most effective advocate [American consumers] could hope for."聽
The question now is how the CTIA will respond. Speaking to Ars Technica, a rep for the group said that it looked "forward to continuing discussions聽under Chairman Wheeler鈥檚 leadership," but stopped short of signaling whether it would comply with the FCC's proposal.聽