A Call To Let Your Phone Loose

A CALL TO LET YOUR PHONE LOOSE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Charles Babington]
Until federal regulators issued a landmark ruling in 1968, Americans could not own the telephones in their homes, nor attach answering machines or other devices to them. Now, a growing number of academics and consumer activists say it's time to deliver a similar groundbreaking jolt to the cellphone industry, possibly triggering a new round of customer options and technical innovations to rival the one that produced faxes, modems and the Internet. Wireless carriers, which limit what customers may do with their phones, say the move is unnecessary and potentially harmful. But in articles, blogs and speeches, a number of researchers are asking why the companies are allowed to force consumers to buy new handsets when they change carriers, pay a specified carrier to transfer photos from a camera phone, or download ring tones or music from one provider only. The wireless carriers, however, say that forcing them to open their networks to unfettered use is not needed, because consumers have several options for carriers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802169.html
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802150.html