Just FYI: Saturday Jan 26th It Will Be Illegal in the US to Unlock Your Phone

[SquireSCA]

I think that their argument is that if they sell a phone at a subsidized price, then they have a right to enforce the contract in order to recoup their "loss" on the sale price of the phone. This is being likened to a finance company having a lein on your car, that you cannot sell it and transfer ownership to someone else until they are paid off in full and release the title.

Which onthe surface sounds plausible, until one remembers that if you break the contract early, you are subject to the FTA, which they say is there for the same reason, to recoup the subsidy they gave you on the handset.

Legally, I would hope that they can only claim one or the other, not both. So either you pay the ETF and take your phone to another carrier, or, you wait out the contract and then take it. But not have you pay the ETF and then claim you have to finish the contract and then still try to prevent you.

My point is that their argument holds no water when you consider that that argument is what the ETF is already in place for.

 

[jseah]

Doesn't Europe allow you to take the phone that you own, and go get a SIM card and service for whatever carrier you want? This isn't rocket science. I buy a TV, maybe I get a good deal on it because I signed up for DirecTV with it, but when my contract is up and DirectTV "Recovered their costs", why should they be able to prevent me from going to Comcast or Dish?

It's stupid. This is yet another industry buying legislation in order to boost profits, with the consumers and tax payers footing the bill and being incovenienced.

Not all countries. For example, France does have a law on the books that says that any phone sold in France has to be unlocked. This is why when the original iPhone was sold in Europe, the price of the phone in France was some hundred or two hundred euros higher than in Germany.

 

[jntdroid]

I think that their argument is that if they sell a phone at a subsidized price, then they have a right to enforce the contract in order to recoup their "loss" on the sale price of the phone. This is being likened to a finance company having a lein on your car, that you cannot sell it and transfer ownership to someone else until they are paid off in full and release the title.

Which onthe surface sounds plausible, until one remembers that if you break the contract early, you are subject to the FTA, which they say is there for the same reason, to recoup the subsidy they gave you on the handset.

Legally, I would hope that they can only claim one or the other, not both. So either you pay the ETF and take your phone to another carrier, or, you wait out the contract and then take it. But not have you pay the ETF and then claim you have to finish the contract and then still try to prevent you.

My point is that their argument holds no water when you consider that that argument is what the ETF is already in place for.

I see what you mean. To stick with my example, why would I want to unlock my S3 to another carrier if I wasn't planning on taking my line there anyway, at which point I'd be forced to pay the ETF... unless I got a new phone #.

 

[SquireSCA]

I see what you mean. To stick with my example, why would I want to unlock my S3 to another carrier if I wasn't planning on taking my line there anyway, at which point I'd be forced to pay the ETF... unless I got a new phone #.

Correct, and if you pay them the ETF, then you have fullfilled your obligation to them and repaid them in full, so they should release the phone. The fact that they do not, means that the reason they gave for wanting this law, had nothing to do with recouping subsidy costs. It has to do with making it as painful as possible to go to another carrier, to they purchase legislation in order to do that.

 

[xeene]

did you know that you'll have lesser sentence for killing a person then unlocking a phone? the doctor who killed michael jackson was sentenced to 4 year, while unlocking a phone will book you a nice cell for 5-10 years.

"PENALTY: In some situations, first time offenders may be fined up to $500,000, imprisoned for five years, or both. For repeat offenders, the maximum penalty increases to a fine of $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both.”



considering all the unlocks i've done, i should be jailed for life!

 

[huskur]

hhhmmm. Well I purchase my phones outright....to keep my unlimited data. That being said.....

MY PHONE, I OWN IT.......so I can do whatever I like with it!!

 

[SquireSCA]

You won't be keeping Unlimited Data for long, no matter how much you pay for your phone...

 

[UrbanBounca]

You won't be keeping Unlimited Data for long, no matter how much you pay for your phone...

They also said that when VZW released tiered packages.

 

[SquireSCA]

They also said that when VZW released tiered packages.

It's coming, rest assured.

 

[debrad0307]

Well, considering that all the telecoms are going to 4G/LTE I would venture to guess this means that all phones with LTE will be compatible. But, also we've seen a rise in every day people buying phones with global capabilities.
Look at the t-mobile kids who bought the htc dna droid off contract and took it to t-mobile.
Plus, we're seeing a retaliatory backlash against consumers who are not paying for the roaming charges when leaving the country because they could unlock it.
As far as cricket is concerned they will have to abide by the newly to be enforced lost/stolen/blacklisted directory for phones. So, if you leave Verizon with your galaxy Nexus without paying for the etf or the bill then they will block the esn/imeid number to render the phone useless.

Well they already do that with the phones.. I know Verizon will blacklist the esn if you have a balance with them. I would assume then that cricket will have to sell their own phones instead of advising that they can unlock and flash your current phone to work with their service.

Sent from my Synergized SCH-I535

 

[SquireSCA]

Well they already do that with the phones.. I know Verizon will blacklist the esn if you have a balance with them. I would assume then that cricket will have to sell their own phones instead of advising that they can unlock and flash your current phone to work with their service.

Sent from my Synergized SCH-I535

Again, all of this indicates that their primary goal is to lobby and purchase legislation that makes it harder for the competition to gain traction. This isn't about recovering subsidies, or protecting their networks or consumers. It's about making it harder for people to leave. They want laws to help them "protect their turf", for lack of a better word...

 

[zomnomnombie]

I am perfectly okay with this for subsidized phones for the length of the contract. There should be language to protect those that purchased outright or have carried their contract to fulfillment.

 

[huskur]

You won't be keeping Unlimited Data for long, no matter how much you pay for your phone...

I know people with "ancient" plans that still have them and are on month to month and have been for years. That is exactly what I plan to do. No changes at all BUT if Verizon does find a way to kill my unlimited data I will just go back to a basic phone. If I am having to constantly look for wifi so I don't overuse data then I might as well just have a small tablet to do it with. Since wifi is almost everywhere it will really only be their loss and on my end it will be a $30 monthly financial gain. So, let them do what they like.....but like I said.....if my unlimited is ever compromised I will just carry a tab like the Nexus 7 or GTab 8.

 

[SquireSCA]

I know people with "ancient" plans that still have them and are on month to month and have been for years. That is exactly what I plan to do. No changes at all BUT if Verizon does find a way to kill my unlimited data I will just go back to a basic phone. If I am having to constantly look for wifi so I don't overuse data then I might as well just have a small tablet to do it with. Since wifi is almost everywhere it will really only be their loss and on my end it will be a $30 monthly financial gain. So, let them do what they like.....but like I said.....if my unlimited is ever compromised I will just carry a tab like the Nexus 7 or GTab 8.

It will end at some point. VZW is making money hand over fist from tiered plans. You are out of contract, which means that they no longer have to honor your Unlimited plan. At the moment that some bean counter determines that the backlash will be minimal, your plan is done.

 

[jseah]

It will end at some point. VZW is making money hand over fist from tiered plans. You are out of contract, which means that they no longer have to honor your Unlimited plan. At the moment that some bean counter determines that the backlash will be minimal, your plan is done.

And yet I am sure there are still people that are on the old America's Choice plan and are using data under MOU, and Verizon hasn't gotten around to kicking them off. Verizon's track record is that they don't kick people off who are grandfathered. The only instance that I am aware of is with the unlimited international data plan, and that was because there was a real financial impact to the company (i.e. Verizon's international data roaming costs were probably higher than the money they charged the customer).