FCC Votes To Make Phone Unlocking Easier

With a unanimous 5-0 vote, the FCC says it is moving forward with plans that should make unlocking your mobile phone easier than ever. According to a new FCC announcement, the agency say it will begin crafting new rules that will require that wireless carriers unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60days of activation. At various […]

With a unanimous 5-0 vote, the FCC says it is moving forward with plans that should make unlocking your mobile phone easier than ever. According to a new FCC announcement, the agency say it will begin crafting new rules that will require that wireless carriers unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60
days of activation.

At various times unlocking your phone was deemed downright illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Things have eased some over the years; very often it’s now possible to unlock your device and change carriers if your phone is paid off and you’re no longer under contract.

But the FCC noted that the current guidelines surrounding unlocking are a mish mash of voluntary industry standards and more stringent unlocking requirements usually affixed to either merger conditions or the use of certain spectrum. The new rules should create some uniformity, and the FCC is contemplating whether they should even apply to users still under contract with their wireless carrier.

“You bought your phone, you should be able to take it to any provider you want,” Biden FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel said in an announcement. “Some providers already operate this way. Others do not. In fact, some have recently increased the time their customers must wait until they can unlock their device by as much as 100 percent.”

The FCC’s Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) specifically singles out T-Mobile’s prepaid brand Metro, which the agency notes recently extended the number of days that users must wait to unlock their phone from 185 days to 365 days. As we’ve noted previously, T-Mobile lost most of its competitive spirit as a result of the 2020 merger with Sprint.

The wireless industry only appears to have a few complaints about the order, suggesting it won’t be that dramatic of a shift for the industry. The industry already had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of an era where it not only tried to lock down devices, but tried to block consumer choice as it pertains to apps, software and services (remember when Verizon wouldn’t let you use competing GPS apps?).

Chiseling away at the draconian DMCA as well as merger and spectrum purchase conditions already did most of the heavy lifting, and if the FCC’s rules are well crafted, they should help finish the job.