Handcuffs chafe wireless users

HANDCUFFS CHAFE WIRELESS USERS
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
To many, the Apple iPhone is the ultimate wireless device — a seductive blend of technology, function and dead-on cool, all wrapped into a sleek package. To others, it's a glaring example of what's wrong with the U.S. wireless industry in general. "The iPhone offers superior technology, but public policies in this country allow (Apple) to chain that technology to one massive company, AT&T, rather than allow consumers to make the choices they want," charges Josh Silver, co-founder of Free Press, a consumer advocacy group. His latest campaign — "Free the iPhone" — promotes an open Internet and consumer-friendly public policies for mobile devices. The website (www.freetheiphone.org) has resulted in "tens of thousands of supporting petitions," he says. Silver says his beef isn't with the iPhone per se. Other U.S. carriers do the same thing with the devices they sell. For starters, he notes, would-be iPhone users must sign a two-year contract, or contract extension, with AT&T, the sole U.S. distributor. Owners can access the Internet only via AT&T's network, unless they happen to be in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot. And the iPhone works only with software sold by Apple and AT&T. Though it is touted as a "global phone," the iPhone is locked, so using it overseas requires paying extra for an international calling plan with — you guessed it — AT&T. Such handcuffs are common in the U.S. wireless industry. Other big carriers, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint, impose similar restrictions, says Chris Murphy of Consumers Union. "Consumers have no bargaining power against these wireless terms that carriers can dictate. It's a take-it-or-leave-it proposition."
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070823/wirelesscover.art.htm

* Overseas, cellphones mostly 'unlocked'
Are you unlocked? If you live in the USA, probably not. Wireless devices here are generally "locked" by carriers so that they work only with that carrier's network and software applications. In Europe, the situation is just the opposite: Phones are typically "unlocked," enabling wireless customers to switch carriers and applications with ease.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070823/2b_unlocked23.art.htm