Permanent Cellphone Unlocking Legislation Needed, Says PK
There are “some limitations” to the FCC’s agreement with major U.S. wireless carriers to let customers switch networks on their mobile devices, Sherwin Siy, Public Knowledge vice president-legal affairs, said in a news release Wednesday. Those carriers kept a commitment…
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to adopt policies within a year allowing customers to switch networks while keeping their existing devices, two FCC officials said in a Wednesday blog post (see 1502110050 and 1502120028">1502120028). Consumers are still barred from unlocking their mobile phones, which was the “original source of concern,” Siy said. The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which allows such unlocking, is “only effective for a short period of time,” he said. Siy noted PK’s recent comments to the Copyright Office seeking to allow unlocking exemptions under Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201 (see 1502110062). PK hopes Congress will “ensure that such a change can be made permanently, and settle the matter once and for all," Siy said.