FCC Chairwoman Clyburn on the Importance of Cellphone Unlocking

I support policies that enable consumers to lawfully unlock their mobile telephones, so they can seamlessly move from one carrier to another.

While wireless carriers should be able to enforce their valid customer contracts, the unlocking provisions need to be grounded in common sense and practical application. Consumers, who satisfy the reasonable terms of their contracts, should not be subject to civil and criminal penalties if they want to take their device to a new carrier. Months ago, the Commission began meeting with carriers and representative trade associations to reach an industry standard policy for unlocking cell phones. As the 114,000 people that signed on to the White House petition earlier this year demonstrate, this issue is too important to consumers for us to not find a solution and I firmly believe a voluntary approach that promotes competition and consumer choice is still possible. Some providers have already adopted consumer-friendly cellphone unlocking policies, and I applaud them. The FCC, industry, and other stakeholders should continue to work towards an industry-wide cellphone unlocking solution that best serves the public interest.

Therefore, I've directed the FCC staff to redouble our efforts with partners across the administration and industry to explore all of our available options for a quick resolution.