FCC Proposes Mobile Phone Unlocking Requirement

The Federal Communications Commission proposed that the agency require mobile service providers to unlock customers’ mobile phones within 60 days of activation. Expanded unlocking requirements would establish a clear and uniform set of requirements for all mobile service providers. New unlocking rules would allow consumers the freedom to take their existing phones and switch from one mobile service provider to another more easily, as long as the consumer’s phone is compatible with the new provider’s wireless network. Mobile phone unlocking can increase consumer choice and competition in the mobile service provider marketplace. Updated unlocking rules would give consumers more flexibility when switching service providers, increase competition among service providers, and reduce customer confusion by applying the same unlocking rules to all service providers.