Nov 19
Slate is reporting that, while the Obama administration has long been making noises about trying to support phone unlocking
     |
Nov 15
The newly crowned chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, is clearly an ambitious man: he’s on a crusade to get carriers to allow phone unlocking.
| |
Mar 28
See where an appropriate amount of public pressure will get you? As promised, Rogers’ long-due rational unlocking policy is in full effect. You can now pay $50 to have Rogers unlock a device bought on contract if it’s either fully paid off or has been on the network for 90 days, making it easier to take your phone on a vacation — or to a rival carrier, if you also pony up any relevant cancellation fees. Likewise, you won’t have to make a phone call now that retail staff have resources to unlock devices in-store. We can’t say that the gesture delivers more freedom than buying already unlocked hardware like the Nexus 4, but those lured into a contract by a sweet deal on an iPhone 5 or HTC One won’t have to feel completely fenced in for the whole three years.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Rogers RedBoard
Mar 08
AT&T: ‘We Will Unlock Your Phone’
Posted in: Today's Chili
Mar 08
The legality of unlocking cellphones has been a hot topic ever since it was revealed it would be considered illegal for US citizens to unlock their devices after January 26, 2013. We’ve seen support come in from the FCC Chairman as well as the US government, and today, one major carrier is throwing in their support for the unlocking of devices.
The consistently low-ranked in customer service AT&T has taken the debate whether or not customers have a right to unlock their devices public. AT&T’s VP of Federal Regulatory Joan Marsh says “the ruling has very little impact on AT&T customers.” Marsh took the opportunity to reiterate the company’s unlocking policy: “if we have the unlock code or can reasonably get it from the manufacturer, AT&T currently will unlock a device for any customer whose account has been active for at least sixty days; whose account is in good standing and has no unpaid balance; and who has fulfilled his or her service agreement commitment. If the conditions are met we will unlock up to five devices per account per year.”
That sure is a lot of stipulations in order to get your devices unlocked, which we’re sure the customer service rep you’ll be calling in order to have your device unlocked will find a fault somewhere in your account in order to deny the procedure.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Field Trip Helps iOS Users Learn More About Their World, Google Cutting 1,200 Motorola Mobility Jobs,
Mar 07
We should have known that it wouldn’t take long for someone in congress to take up the fight to re-legalize cellphone unlocking. Those championing the effort on the floor of the Senate are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) , Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act this afternoon. After the Librarian of Congress declared that unlocking a cellphone violated copyright law under the DMCA (that’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act) activists kicked into high gear in an attempt to prevent or reverse the decision. Consumer advocates quickly collected 100,000 signatures on a petition, forcing the White House to take a position on the matter. To the relief of many, including the globe trotters and ROM fanatics here at Engadget, President Obama backed our right to circumvent carrier locks — within reason, of course. This is after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski voiced concerns that the ban could hamper competition and innovation.
Anna Eshoo, a Democrat from California, is pushing a similar bill in the House of representatives, but its the bipartisan senate version that seems to be garnering the most attention. In a statement Blumenthal called the legislation “common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice and important for ensuring healthy competition in the market.” Obviously this is just the beginning of a long long journey and all the sponsors can do is hope and pray their sad little scrap of paper will one day become a law.
Update: It turns out that there’s another bill that has been introduced in the Senate as well, penned by Oregon senator Rob Wyden.
Source: AllThingsD
Mar 04
The White House has responded to a 100,000+ signature petition opposing the recent decision by the Librarian of Congress to remove DMCA exemptions for unlocking cellphones. The official response? You should be able to unlock your phone with no legal penalty. So long as you own your phone. More »
Mar 01
On January 26, it was deemed illegal for those in the U.S. to unlock their cellphones to be used on any wireless carrier they choose, which resulted in a White House petition to be created, receiving over 100,000 signatures, meaning we should be hearing an official response from them in the near future.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski caught wind of consumers’ outrage, and has voiced his concerns on the topic saying the “ban raises competition concerns” and “innovation concerns.” Genachowski assured the public his organization will look into whether it “can and should enable customers to use unlocked phones,” although he also says he doesn’t know exactly what kind of authority the FCC has on this topic.
We’re not entirely sure what the FCC could do to help the U.S. government retract its outlawing of unlocking cellphones, but we guess any bit could help at this point as they have yet to acknowledge how outraged the great majority of U.S. citizens have become over this ban.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG Optimus G Pro Benchmarks, LG Optimus G Pro Unboxing [HD Video],
Mar 01
FCC Chairman voices ‘concerns’ about US phone unlocking ban, says he’ll look into it
Posted in: Today's Chili
Bad news travels fast, so by now many US phone buyers ought to know about this country’s depressing u-turn on phone unlocking. The latest policy — which makes it illegal to unlock a phone without a carrier’s permission — looks to be set in stone for at least three years, but that isn’t stopping people in high places from voicing serious reservations about it. The latest to pipe up is FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who told TechCrunch that the “ban raises competition concerns” and “innovation concerns.” Genachowski said the FCC will look at whether it “can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones” but he also admitted he isn’t sure what kind of authority he has over the issue. It all feels a bit late in the day, frankly, especially when the FCC appears to have largely stood aside while the unlocking policy was being hammered out.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: TechCrunch
Feb 21
If you’re a U.S. citizen and you’ve unlocked your cell phone after January 26 , you should be aware that you’re a criminal in the eyes of the government and you should expect Uncle Sam to be kicking in your door to take you away any day now.
U.S. citizens who prefer to have the choice of whether or not they can unlock their devices have taken to the White House’s petition site, which just today hit 100,000. The purpose of the petition is to make it legal again for smartphone owners to be able to unlock their devices in order to use their phone on any network they choose.
With the petition reaching 100,000 signatures, this means it has earned an official response from the White House, which we’re sure petition signers are hoping it will be in favor of making it legal to unlock smartphones once again. If not, then there’s always that Kickstarter project to create a death star to possibly help persuade the U.S. government.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Possible Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) Sample Photos Hit The Web, WhatsApp For Windows Phone Receives Major Update,
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.