Phone unlocking Ban

+1 reason for buying a factory unlocked phone, although this is kind of crappy if it "passes"

any ideas how it would be enforced?

I know of this group of people who sell at a local flea market. They sell phone cases, phone chargers, used phones, and also phone repairs and services. They've been offering phone unlocking services for $45 for over a year or so and I think they still do it to this day. I'm wondering if everything will catch up to them now that it's not necessarily legal to unlock a phone. o.O

I think this is going to wind up with if you had a contract with a carrier and it has expired you can get it unlocked from them. If someone else had a phone out of contract then it can still be unlocked. But if you have or buy an in contract phone your screwed.

Quote from repitall : I think this is going to wind up with if you had a contract with a carrier and it has expired you can get it unlocked from them. If someone else had a phone out of contract then it can still be unlocked. But if you have or buy an in contract phone your screwed.

i still think people will still unlock... but since there isnt much people unlocking fearing of getting sued, its gonna drive up the cost of unlocking...

for, you can get a iPhone unlock for like $5... im gonna bet it will cost $30+ for an unlock now...

Quote from RockySosua : You can bet that the big boys have a hand in this. Unlocking the phone may be considered illegal, but who's to say when you unlocked yours? It could have been before the law was passed.

Now that you mention it, it definitely was. I need to stop sniffing glue, it messes with my memory .

That decision was made not by voters, the courts, or even Congress. It was made by one man, 83-year-old Congressional Librarian James Hadley Billington...

Just as an aside, why is the man's age relevant to this story? Considering how politically correct most of the media is these days, they can oh so conveniently be politically INcorrect when it suits them.

Quote from eibgrad : [I] Just as an aside, why is the man's age relevant to this story?.

My take on it is that most men at 83, have a few loose screws and aren't in touch with today's realities.
There are exceptions to everything, of course, and this guy might still be quite sane, but there's no way he's in touch with the average man in the US and the way things are done nowadays, no more than an exceptionally young person, like an 8 year old boy, could really have his thumb on the pulse of what's happening in today's world.
It's actually quite similar to the US president.
Nobody wants a young man who has no life experience, but they certainly aren't looking for an 83 year old man either, for fear of his being a bit senile.
Of course, all this is just my opinion and a accumulation of life experiences, but on the other hand, I'm no expert on the matter.

Quote from coffeewench : Now that you mention it, it definitely was. I need to stop sniffing glue, it messes with my memory .

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.

yes, the bribes, I mean the lobbying, is the biggest problem

by the way guys, this is already in effect one of many sources available [dailymail.co.uk]

and from what i've read, [infowars.com]it is for unlocking, rooting, jailbreaking, etc....next this is putting a background picture will be illegal...morons!

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.

maybe everyone has too busy talking about budget, gun control, and immigration...

Quote from eibgrad : That decision was made not by voters, the courts, or even Congress. It was made by one man, 83-year-old Congressional Librarian James Hadley Billington... Just as an aside, why is the man's age relevant to this story? Considering how politically correct most of the media is these days, they can oh so conveniently be politically INcorrect when it suits them.

because at 83 he probably is not up to date on technology

May be everyone should email James Hadley Billington letting him know how we feel about the decision.

Phone unlocking ban sparks consumer ire; White House petition
http://www.pcworld.com/article/20...k.nl_today

Quote from jbloggs : May be everyone should email James Hadley Billington letting him know how we feel about the decision.

No kidding... It's like he didn't think of the consequences of his actions. I think that he might be a few cards short of a full deck.

Quote from repitall : Phone unlocking ban sparks consumer ire; White House petition http://www.pcworld.com/article/20...k.nl_today

First, I want to say thanks for bringing this to light.
I certainly hadn't heard about it before your thread and it seems nobody else had either.
It's interesting to note that the law was only put into action, this past weekend.
I hope lots of people read this thread and register to sign the petition [whitehouse.gov] against the law and that they revoke it.

Quote from RockySosua : First, I want to say thanks for bringing this to light. I certainly hadn't heard about it before your thread and it seems nobody else had either. It's interesting to note that the law was only put into action, this past weekend. I hope lots of people read this thread and register to sign the petition [whitehouse.gov] against the law and that they revoke it.

Thanks Rocky..evidently the petition was started 2 days before I knew about it..shouldn't take long to get the 100K signatures.

this needs to be moved to the lounge, modalerting so they can do that. this needs more attention