[governance] Fwd: Unlocking Your Phone Is Illegal Starting Tomorrow

[Daniel Kalchev]

On 28.01.13 06:41, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
> Charity Gamboa [27/01/13 22:29 -0600]:
>> upgrade. I've done it so I would think that the issue lies on the 
>> premise
>> that if you are locked into a contract, unlocking your phone is not
>> allowed. Once you are through with your contract, I would assume that 
>> your
>> phone is paid for and technically yours.
>
> That premise is correct. Jailbreaking your phone when you buy it cheap on
> contract is the issue here. Several people are doing this not for the
> freedom of installing new apps, but to simply export the phone out and 
> sell
> it at a profit in the second hand market in developing countries.
>

I don't really get it. Are people indeed *that* dumb?

Buying an "subsidized" phone on contract is essentially leasing the 
phone. You pay "small" price initially, which is essentially the initial 
payment in the leasing contract and you pay your monthly installments 
with your monthly services bill. How legal is that is another question.

So why should the operator care at all, what you do with your handset? 
Whether you "unlock" it, sell it "cheaply" to someone "abroad", smash it 
with a hammer or drop it in your bathtub... does it really matter, as 
long as you pay your lease in form of monthly fees?

Modifying the device in such a way that it becomes incompatible with, or 
dangerous to the (shared) carrier network is something entirely 
different that that should be prosecuted under existing laws.

As for the "cheap" subsidized phones, the carries have long and boring 
contracts that cover these things and they will always get their money. 
Doesn't matter if you unlock the phone or not.

My opinion is that carrier locking should be forbidden by law and not 
locking phones to the carrier should become an strict requirement for 
obtaining license to become public telecommunications operator. Remember 
how AT&T got split?

Daniel

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