“Barack Obama will today sign a bill that makes cell phone unlocking legal again, writing the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law following its unanimous approval by the Senate and House of Representatives,” Juli Clover reports for Mac Rumors.
“It first became illegal to unlock a cell phone in January of 2013, after an exception in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act expired, restricting U.S. customers from shifting their service to other carriers or using their devices abroad with local SIM cards,” Clover reports. “Now that cell phone unlocking is once again legal, consumers and third-party unlocking services will be able to unlock paid-for cell phones and tablets without receiving express permission from carriers and without facing criminal penalties.”
Clover reports, “The changes will make it easier for consumers to take their devices to the carrier of their choice after contractual obligations have been fulfilled and it will also be easier to use existing devices abroad.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related article:
Bill legalizing iPhone unlocking approved by U.S. House of Representatives – July 25, 2014
Hot! Cold! Hot! Cold!!
Is this how the worlds proponent of democracy and capitalism operates?
Just saying….
This president has no idea what he is supposed to be doing and not doing.
Do you.Vega51 know what you are doing? Does anyone for that matter?
Did he propose the exceptions that expired?
I was commenting on the existing state of affairs in which business demands are met before the electorates by politicians who choose to ignore the people who put them in office in the first place and can take them out.
Stay on topic. It was the DCMA of 1998 that put restrictions on the unlocking of cell phones. A couple of years ago the Library of Congress made it legal to unlock them, then changed its mind and repealed its own decision. Obama simply signed a law passed (for once, unanimously) by Congress following a digital petition on the White House’s “We the People” site.
It seems to me that it is you who has no idea.
Congress and the President can’t agree on what type of jelly goes on a PBnJ, but they can agree on this. At least that’s something.
I can now officially say that Obama will have done something in office that I agree with and appreciate besides the next thing he does which I will agree with and appreciate which is leave office.
Brain dead insults! You are sick with ignorant hate!
Gee, that’s funny. Your words exactly express YOU.
Besides, the post is true and you did not dispute specific facts or offer a counter argument, why?
Because the truth hurts and if hurling insults makes you feel better, wow, their are better ways to overcome.
In this area, Congress could be useful with a bill that requires wireless carriers to separate the cost of collecting back the subsidy (which is essentially a loan) from service charges, on the customer’s monthly statement.
After the two-year contract expires, the “subsidy payback” on the customer’s bill goes away, and only the service charges remain. The customer can keep using that plan and their existing phone, without continuing to pay for a subsidy that the carrier has already earned back. And customers who “bring their own phone” can get that same plan.
Absolutely necessary. I’m paying on three out of contract 4S that will not be replaced until iPhone 6 comes out.
That is crazy! You are donating money to your carrier! You should have upgraded your 4s the moment it came off contract, to whatever other device was available (ex. 5s). You could always keep those 4s devices and just sell the new 5s for $650 each. That way, when the new 6 comes out, between the $650 you got for the new 5s and whatever the residual value of your old 4s, you’ll have more than enough to buy the new 6 upfront, and you’ll only have whatever is the remaining time on your contract to pay off.
Or you could switch to T-Mobile and forget about this 2-year contract nonsense, and change phones any time you want.
T-Mobile is already doing exactly that. The plan is $50 per month (all-you-can-eat, with 1GB per month at 4G speed, then throttling beyond that). If you want to buy a phone from T-Mobile, you can pay all up-front, to go for one of the interest-free instalment plans. For the iPhone, it is $170 upfront and 24 instalments of $20 (totalling $650). Retail tax is paid upfront, and for the whole price. On your bill, the two items (mobile service, and instalment plan) are separated.
Who knows, one day, the other carriers will begin doing this too…
That’s great. That does not change my call for Congress to do something that’s actually beneficial to actual people, and make it a requirement. Then, that “one day” will come. As it stands now (except for T-Mobile customers I guess), it’s like someone paying off an auto loan, and continuing to make monthly payments “out of habit.”
“Barack Obama will today sign a bill that makes the US border unlocking legal again, writing the Unlocking Borders No-Choice and Witless Competition Act into law following its unanimous approval by the Senate and House of Representatives,” M. Botvinnik reports for TreasonToday.com.
Washington burns will congress is on vacation. Vacation from what? They do nothing.
Doing nothing is better than passing a law costing taxpayers billions of dollars that do NOTHING.
Nothing to solve the problem, that is …
The trouble is – They cost the taxpayers untold millions. With their salaries, bribe pay-offs etc.
Correct. And payouts to the agencies and unions that suck taxpayer dollars into their pockets and have ZERO inclination to solve the problem.
The worst thing that ever happened to this country is the introduction of air conditioning and trains to that swamp on the Potomac (Washington D.C). The congress would cause far less trouble if we made them ride horses and fan themselves with old copies of the Washington Post.
Well, well, Silver clueless — late last night the so-called do nothing U.S. Congress passed an immigration bill!
The do nothing SENATE recessed a day earlier and passed NOTHING!!!
Which proves Republicans are more responsible than Democrats when it comes to addressing real world problems.
Register your down vote in 3… 2… 1…
So the house waiting until the senate leaves makes the senate the bad one?? Hmmmm!!!
No, the senate left with the work left undone. They left a day early so they could not address it.
Swordmaker is 100% correct.
While I appreciate your comment, you really need to pay attention … peace.
Let the free market decide…vote with your wallet! Less rules, more freedom.
The free market ain’t free and it only slightly works.
Just saying.
…. and might that more freedom include freedom FROM safer medicine, safer food, cleaner air and water and the minimal regulation we still have limiting unscrupulous banking practices ?
i have yet to figure out why so many conservative and libertarian folks are in such a big hurry to return us to the late 19th and 20th century way of doing business.
we have already seen that movie and we know how it turned out. it was the basically unfettered “less rules” that brought teddy roosevelt to begin the reforms that others built upon.
and by the way who needs a 40 hour work week and a minimum wage anyhow? just gets in the way of the free market.
anybody here old enough to remember in 1969 when the cuyahoga river actually caught fire because it was so heavily polluted ? that is why so many of us in the ’60’s and early ’70’s fought so hard for environmental laws to repair the damage done in the age of “less rules”.
even my crusty old and deeply conservative father saw the value of that, when he took a trip to southern california in the early ’60’s and was appalled at the smog and air pollution – it was one far cry from what he remembered as the beautiful clear skies he flew through as an aviation cadet
back in ’42.
ain’t nothin’ wrong with capitalism and the free market that some judicious and well thought out regulation can’t cure. but iff’n you don’t take the medicine, you aint gonna get better
and not taking that medicine just might kill yo ass.
Does this affect iPhone users?
Jumping the gun a bit. Unlocking will no become legal for another year. Next July to be precise.
It’s all Obama’s fault!!
Oh wait…
Never mind.
Yup!
Forgot to add: good to read you moved on from it’s all the fault of Bush.
/s
Predrag,
Was thinking along your lines and tried to switch from AT&T to T-mobile last year when I upgraded to a 5S. Unfortunately, the T-mobile cell service was almost non-existent for me. After 24 hours, I had to switch back.
I picked up a T-Mobile hotspot after carefully checking their coverage maps online for the places I needed connectivity. IT didn’t work; their maps lied. It took 20 minutes with an online support droid to get that admission out of them. I have a barely used mobile hotspot for sale.
1 it’s an act of congress not a law.
2 it’s a grossly unconstitutional one at that.
3 it in no way changes the DMCA.
4 it itself makes no changes to any law.
5 Doesn’t at all mean you will be able to unlock your phone.
6 will have no effect for a year.