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It is Illegal for Verizon to Lock Some Bootloaders (Updated) | xda-developers
It is Illegal for Verizon to LockSome Bootloaders(Updated) October2 4, 2 0 11 By: azrienoch
Verizon Wireless breaks the law if the bootloaders are locked on some phones. By the endof this article, you’ll know why.
As I was recording my show for XDATV this week,I had a moment. You can see it for yourself. Iwas recapping my article aboutMotorola and Verizon not unlocking the bootloader for the Droid RAZR. The line Idelivered was,“The international version of the Droid RAZR will be shipping with an unlocked bootloader. Now, this couldbe that Motorola wants to compete with the Galaxy Nexus…” That’s when Ihad my moment, and added, “which is funny because that’s also going on Verizon.”
In that moment, Irealized that Motorola must be lying. Why can some devices and manufacturers unlock their bootloaders,and not others? But Iwas wrong. (Congratulations, Motorola, on your newfoundsense of freedom!) The Galaxy Nexus is special for two reasons. First, it’s Google’s phone. Second, it’s likely that the Galaxy Nexus’ LTE radiouses Block C frequencies.
Not many people know what the C Block is. I didn’t either. Andrew Krug of AndroidActivists told me about it,andwe spent the night poring over research. Verizonhas the largest 4G network because they bought it in 20 0 8 . At the time,the7 0 0 MHz radio frequencies brought you your favorite broadcast television shows. When television switchedfrom analog to digital,they became your4G networks.
When the Federal Communications Commission announced the auctionto sell the 70 0 MHz band,they broke itinto five different “blocks”,each with differentregulations according to how widespreadthey are. This created a Goldilocks sort of situation. Block D has the largest area, but comes with more clauses than malls have during the Christmas season. Plus, you’re supposed to be a public service agency. Blocks A,B, and E are small potatoes. ButBlock C was just right. Few regulations, lots of breadth.
It was so good, infact,that the FCC tackedon a few more regulations,encouraged by Google. Unless Block C sold for less than$ 4 .6 billion,it comes with anopen access provision. Google pledged $ 4 .6 billionto ensure Block C comes with the open access provision. The openaccess provision requires Verizon to “not deny,limit,or restrict the ability of their customers touse the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block network.” It goes onto say, “The potential for excessive bandwidth demandalone shall not constitute grounds for denying, limiting or restrictingaccess to the network.” Verizon bought Block C and tried to have the provisions removed. They failed. The provisions are still there, Verizon has the Block C license. That means if a device uses the Block C frequencies, Verizon cannotinsistwhat apps or firmware it runs. Italso means they can’t limitdata plans for those devices. Which is odd,because Iremember Verizon dropping unlimited data plans back in July 20 1 1 .
So the question is,do any devices use Block C frequencies? Yes. Some are called Hotspots. Others are called the HTC Thunderbolt. There may be more,those are simply the two I know about andconfirmed. The Hotspots are a non-issue. They comply with FCC regulations as far as I’maware. The HTC Thunderbolt, onthe other hand, does not. In the list of rules andexceptions for the Block C license,it says this:
Handset locking prohibited. No licensee may disable features on handsets it providesto customers, to the extent such features are compliant with the licensee’s standards pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, nor configure handsetsit provides to prohibit use of such handsets on other providers’ networks.
In case you’re wondering, Paragraph (b) is what I previously quoted fromthe FCC’s open access provisions document. Last Ichecked, HTCdev does notoffer a bootloader unlocking solution for the HTC Thunderbolt. Is this HTC’s fault? No. Their website states,“HTC is committed to assisting customers in unlocking bootloaders for HTC devices.However, certain models may not be unlockable due to operator restrictions.” And having personally metthe HTCdev team,I believe them.
That leaves Verizon. Good ol’ Verizon. Breaking the law since May, at the latest. If you owned a Thunderbolt, please file a complaint with the FCC. Select Wireless Telephone> Billing, Service, Privacy, Number Portability and other issues> Online Form. Fill out your information,scroll down,fill out1 and 2 , skip 3and 4. Then in 5, tell the FCC that your phone’s bootloader was soldto you locked and still is,even though it uses Block C (reag) frequencies.
Don’t worry. The FCC said they’re committed toenforcing the open access provision. We’ll see how fast Verizon turns things around. If youknow of any other devices that use frequencies between 7 46 and7 5 7 MHz, and also 7 76 to 7 87 MHz, please send a message to me or any Portal News Writer. Thanks.
UPDATE: David Ruddock over at Android Police was kind enough to further explain the situation. For those of you coming from his article, or who share his criticisms,this article is not erroneous or short-sighted. David’s article does an excellentjob of sobering us to how difficult the struggle will be to get the FCC tomove. The loophole Verizon will undoubtedly use toexcuse their actions is inthe phrase, “reasonable network management,” from paragraph (b)( 1 ),though we don’t know thatfor sure because Verizon has never addressedthe issue. But David’s points do not invalidate this article for two reasons:
1) David’s assessment of the standards by which “reasonable network management” is determined are fairly simple, and I say fairly accurate. Do the other major cellular providers use the same security and management standards? Yes. Okay, seems reasonable. But locking bootloaders is not “reasonable” by the same standard. Most carriers do notexactthis method of network management. Therefore, not necessarily reasonable.
2) The issue of Verizon’s double-standard concerning bootloaders is entirely ignored, eventhough this article began with it, and is based on it. Verizonwill supposedly defend lockingbootloaders because rootingand flashing pose a threat to network security and management (which is debatable),and therefore reasonable to do. However, they donot require the bootloaders tobe locked onall their devices. Samsung’s bootloaders are unlocked, including on phones like the Galaxy Nexus and the Samsung Droid Charge. Why not allow HTC, Motorola, LG, etc. to unlock their devices? This double-standardinvalidates the “reasonable network management” defense.
These questions must be satisfied for Verizon to be within the law.
TAGS: block c, FCC , frequenices , HTC Thunderbolt . . .
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