Phone unlocking Ban

Anyone heard of this before today?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20...k.nl_today

This is the part that needs to be challenged by some hungry lawyer/s. looking to make a name for him/her/them/selves.

Quote : The 20-page document argues that the owner of the smartphone device is not necessarily the owner of the firmware running on the device, and that altering the firmware is a violation of the copyright owned by the carrier.

If that interpretation of the law can be overthrown, then the whole ban deal will crumble.

This is a good read and this is a bad read. It's a good read with clear and concise information but it's a read of bad news if this gets enforced. What also will be illegal is for providers to accept unlocked phones and they'll have to have some way of back checking where a phone came from so they don't accept an illegal phone.

Quote from repitall : Anyone heard of this before today? http://www.pcworld.com/article/20...k.nl_today

yes it has been on other tech forums like DSLreports.

most unlock companies have shut down their unlocking services until they figure out how the law is interpreted... Got all my phones unlocked before the deadline as i will be travelling a lot overseas...

Quote from ReverseHandedJO : yes it has been on other tech forums like DSLreports.

Thanks...here's the article from them http://www.neowin.net/news/startn...in-the-us?

This paragraph is interesting

"There is a small exception. If you buy a phone, used or unused, that was previously bought by someone else, you will have the right to unlock that phone from the wireless carrier on your own. International visitors to the US are also free to bring their unlocked smartphones for use in the country."

Quote from repitall : Thanks...here's the article from them http://www.neowin.net/news/startn...in-the-us? This paragraph is interesting "There is a small exception. If you buy a phone, used or unused, that was previously bought by someone else, you will have the right to unlock that phone from the wireless carrier on your own. International visitors to the US are also free to bring their unlocked smartphones for use in the country."

That don't make any sense. So if someone buys it, used or unused, and returns it and you buy it, that makes the firmware code any less than if it were bought new?

Quote from menace33 : That don't make any sense. So if someone buys it, used or unused, and returns it and you buy it, that makes the firmware code any less than if it were bought new?

I wonder if its due to the restrictions carriers put on phones before they will unlock them. I think verizon is 6 months. So if I buy a used phone off ebay I should not have to wait 6 months before verizon will unlock it.

I bet that the 83-year-old Congressional Librarian James Hadley Billington, was properly bribed by the phone companies, as they desperately try to protect their giant money machine that extorts unusually high profits out of consumers.
Let's face it. They could charge half what they charge now, and still be laughing all the way to the bank.
I don't have any facts to support this, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that 80% of what they charge the consumer, is pure profit.

Quote from RockySosua : I bet that the 83-year-old Congressional Librarian James Hadley Billington, was properly bribed by the phone companies, as they desperately try to protect their giant money machine that extorts unusually high profits out of consumers. Let's face it. They could charge half what they charge now, and still be laughing all the way to the bank. I don't have any facts to support this, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that 80% of what they charge the consumer, is pure profit.

we just need google to build its own network and sell it for dirt cheap like Kansas City!!!

Quote from Albort : we just need google to build its own network and sell it for dirt cheap like Kansas City!!!

Will not happen. Google has had ample opportunity to purchase Tier1 internet providers and major CLECs yet still prefer to purchase bandwidth and phone minutes off them

How did they manage to sneak this law past everyone. I didn't even know about this until a day ago. Normally there is an uprising for this type of law.

Quote from jbloggs : How did they manage to sneak this law past everyone. I didn't even know about this until a day ago. Normally there is an uprising for this type of law.

That's why they did it so sneakily. Otherwise, there would have been way too much opposition.

AT&T had to have a huge hand in this. I HATE THOSE M*%*F*(#()%)#

I hope I can still unlock my iphone, it's a 4 and I was just putting it off until the end of the month as my Ptel SIM came and I figured I'd ride out the rest of the month on my current plan, since I have to pay for it anyhow.

Grrrr.