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FCC proposes ending cellphone carrier locks after 60 days (www.theregister.com)

submitted 4 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

118 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Long-term carrier lock-in could soon be a thing of the past in America after the FCC proposed requiring telcos to unlock cellphones from their networks 60 days after activation.

FCC boss Jessica Rosenworcel put out that proposal on Thursday, saying it would encourage competition between carriers. If subscribers could simply walk off to another telco with their handsets after two months of use, networks would have to do a lot more competing, the FCC reasons.

"When you buy a phone, you should have the freedom to decide when to change service to the carrier you want and not have the device you own stuck by practices that prevent you from making that choice," Rosenworcel said.

Carrier-locked devices contain software mechanisms that prevent them from being used on other providers' networks. The practice has long been criticized for being anti-consumer.

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[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

The merger is still something that I'm 50/50 on because it made T-Mobile's service so much more reliable, and iirc Sprint was genuinely struggling.

It still sucks that Boost isn't going anywhere

[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Sprint was genuinely struggling.

They were on the verge of bankruptcy, really the 2 options were

Let T-Mobile (a distant third competitor to the big 2) buy them
Let sprint die, the big 2 buy large chucks of sprint anyways for pennies on the dollar post-bankruptcy and make their distance from T-Mobile even bigger.

If you need another reason, AT&T was very against the deal, so you KNOW what they think is bad is probably actually good for consumers

[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

I have amazing fiber internet from ATT. I’m using it to make this post. FUCK ATT AND FUCK EVERYTHING THEY STAND FOR. I MEAN THIS PROFESSIONALLY TOO. I HAVE TO TRY TO CALL THESE FUCKING ASSHATS DAILY.