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| President Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law last Friday. Image: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com |
Last Friday President Barack Obama signed into law a bipartisan
bill that will make it easier for consumers to change their cell phone
providers. The bill reverses—at least
temporarily—a decision made by the Library of Congress two years ago that said
“unlocking” cell phones, or allowing them to be used on different networks than
their original providers intended, was illegal based on the Digital Copyright
Act (DMCA).
When cell phones are “locked,” it is impossible to change
providers or switch to a different network when traveling overseas without
incurring huge costs.
"The bill Congress passed today is another step toward
giving ordinary Americans more flexibility and choice so they can find a cell phone
carrier that meets their needs and their budget," President
Obama said.
Some are questioning just how useful the ruling will be,
however. Switching providers could prove
difficult even with cell phones unlocked, given that different carriers use
different network technology and radio frequencies. For example, AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM,
which can be changed when travelling overseas by using a different SIM card. But Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, which
doesn’t use a SIM card at all.
And the law, CNET
warns, will only affect devices a customer fully owns. If a consumer is still under contract and
bought a device at a subsidized price, the wireless provider is not legally
required to unlock it.
In addition, the Library of Congress will still be able to
reverse the decision next year, as the law only allows unlocking until the
Copyright Office is able to revisit the provision.
Still, being able to keep one’s cell phone regardless of service
provider could at least be a boon to the environment: consumers are less likely to allow their
devices to end up in landfills if they can be reused, says Laura Moy, an
attorney for the advocacy group Public Knowledge.
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