Verizon to stop automatic unlocking of phones as FCC ends 60-day unlock rule
Ars Technica • • business
Key Points:
- The FCC has granted Verizon a waiver allowing the company to lock phones to its network for longer periods, eliminating the previous requirement to unlock devices 60 days after activation, aligning Verizon's policy with the CTIA trade group's voluntary unlocking standards.
- Under the CTIA policy, prepaid devices can be unlocked after one year, while postpaid devices require contract fulfillment or payment of fees; Verizon must now unlock phones only upon customer request rather than automatically after 60 days.
- The FCC justified the waiver citing law enforcement concerns that the 60-day unlocking period facilitated handset theft and trafficking by criminal networks, which exploited the earlier unlocking rules to profit from stolen devices.
- Consumer advocacy groups opposed the waiver, arguing that automatic unlocking promotes competition, reduces switching costs,
