Live in North America and you can find a place to eat at any time of night and you can buy a license to carry a concealed gun. But, it’s not all midnight feasts and gunfire because you cannot gamble with online casinos and you cannot unlock your phone. However, the largest US wireless companies have just made it possible to unlock your phone in North America without having to root or crack it.
The voluntary code of conduct
Ever wondered why people in Europe and many other countries in the world are able to unlock their phones without a fuss, and yet in North America it has to be unlocked by a cracker or a rooting specialist. It is a big fight to get your phone unlocked in America, and the reason is because the largest US wireless companies were not following the voluntary code of conduct. They weren’t following it because it is “voluntary.”
The news has just broken that Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless are all now going to follow the voluntary code of conduct for wireless communication companies. It does mean a lot of new benefits for mobile phone users in the US, but the biggest and most obvious is that Americans will be able to unlock their phones without a big fight or without going to a grey-market vendor.
Is there a catch?
The catch is that the phone company can fight you tooth and nail if you are on a contract. They can do all in their power to stop you unlocking your phone until your contract is finished. This means if you buy a phone on contract you are still stuck with that company until your contract is over. Sadly, by the time most people are finished with their contract they are also finished with their phone and that is what the wireless companies are banking on.
If you are eligible to have your phone unlocked, you have to show all “necessary” information to the company, and you have to be “in good standing” as a customer (whatever that means). There are times when you will not be able to break your contract and unlock your phone, but in many cases, you will be able to break your contract and unlock your phone if you are willing to pay a substantial fee.
What if you have a prepaid (Pay As You Go) phone?
In places such as Europe, you can buy a phone and get it unlocked the same day. In the USA, you have to have had the phone for about a year and it must have been active during that time. It must also have fulfilled certain payment and usage requirements too. Plus, there is a chance that unlocked phones will still not work with other US service providers.
All in all, it does seem as if the victory for the consumer is only a small and worthless one, but it is a step in the right direction and may help pave the way for better service for US citizens in the future.
