(Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
Mobile carriers have long sold smartphones that are locked to their networks, but the Federal Communications Commission is now considering rules to limit the practice.
On Thursday, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed rules to require cellular providers “to unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60 days of activation.”
The goal is to let consumers “switch from one mobile wireless service provider to another more easily, as long as the consumer’s phone is compatible with the new provider’s wireless network,” the Commission says. A carrier would only be able to impose locking if the carrier suspects the phone was purchased through "fraud" within the 60 day period, the full text of the proposal says.
In a statement, Rosenworcel also described the proposal as creating “clear, nationwide mobile phone unlocking rules.”
"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,” she added.
Still, the proposal might face resistance from carriers, which usually implement the locking requirements to ensure customers don’t jump ship after receiving a deal on a smartphone or service plan. “In many instances, devices are sold with subsidies (or discounts) in exchange for a required service plan commitment, often months or years in length, or pursuant to a device financing plan” as the FCC notes on its website.
That said, some users on social media have complained that carriers make it annoyingly difficult to unlock a phone, even after fulfilling terms of the deal. This had led some consumers to file complaints with the FCC. A nationwide unlocking rule could make things easier by freeing all applicable phones within 60 days.
Some carriers, such as Verizon could also support the rule change, according to Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Senior Counselor for the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. He noted that Verizon will currently unlock a user's phone after 60 days, due to an earlier agreement made with the FCC.
"This will be the most important boost to competition in the wireless space since number portability," he told PCMag in an email. "Millions of often unsuspecting consumers have been impeded from changing providers because of the artificial barrier imposed by locked handsets."
The Commission will vote on the proposal during its open meeting on July 18. If approved, that will kick off a public comment period asking interested parties to weigh in on the idea, including whether the unlocking should apply to existing and future contracts.
The FCC added: “It also seeks comment on the impact of a 60-day unlocking requirement in connection with service providers’ incentives to offer discounted phones for postpaid and prepaid service plans, as well as whether an unlocking requirement would benefit smaller providers, new entrants, and resellers by increasing the number of phones available on the secondary market.”
After the public comment period, the FCC would develop a finalized version of the unlocking rules, which will receive another round of public comments before a final vote.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with more context about the FCC proposal.