Re:Europe Is Guaranteeing Citizens the Right to Repair
by lostlogin on Monday January 11, 2021 @01:49PM
(#25734047)
> This mainly applies to US carriers (in the US and Latam), and there certainly are exceptions in Europe where EVERY cell phone is unlocked from day one, regardless of your contractual status.
I had no idea this was still a thing, itβs horrible. What mechanism is creating the current situation? Phones are all unlocked here in New Zealand.
Re:Europe Is Guaranteeing Citizens the Right to Repair
by Nextgrid on Monday January 11, 2021 @03:51PM
(#25736647)
> What mechanism is creating the current situation?
Lack of general consumer protection regulation (or their enforcement), and specifically with regards to telecommunications the regulator who's supposed to oversee the field (the FCC in the US, or OFCOM in the UK for example) is often in bed with the companies it's supposed to regulate.
Re:Europe Is Guaranteeing Citizens the Right to Repair
by abiogenesis on Monday January 11, 2021 @07:14PM
(#25740344)
> Phones are all unlocked here in New Zealand.
Really? I'm surprised because I'm in AU and there are certainly phones locked to a specific carrier. What about $10 burner phones?
Fast forward 6 years, and it is much harder to unlock a phone than it was then. The whole thing backfired for consumers. It was actually easier to unlock a phone in a "non-legal" way before the law than it was right after.
This whole new code of conduct for carriers actually made them convert their SIMlock departments to be more like a customer retention lifecycle.
This mainly applies to US carriers (in the US and Latam), and there certainly are exceptions in Europe where EVERY cell phone is unlocked from day one, regardless of your contractual status.
[1]: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/08/15/heres-h...