Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday in the U.S.

Re:Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday in the U.S. by __david__ on Thursday January 24, 2013 @04:26PM (#5112336)

No, the carrier does not "own your phone"--they're taking a risk that you'll abide by the contract.

Even if you get out of your contract early, you have to pay a termination fee, which is effectively the remaining part of your carrier subsidy. AT&T is going to get their money one way or another.

Also, going to Europe for 2 weeks doesn't mean you stopped paying your AT&T bill for those weeks, either. It's perfectly reasonable to expect your phone to not be carrier locked.

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Re:Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday in the U.S. by Terretta on Thursday January 24, 2013 @09:15PM (#5113551)

I wasn't clear. I didn't mean the carrier literally owns your phone. I prefixed with "I believe" intending to convey how it seems to work, not the technical fact. I should have written, "It's as though the carrier owns your phone".

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Re:Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday in the U.S. by kelnos on Sunday January 27, 2013 @05:51AM (#5123873)

But the technical fact is all that matters. What you "believe" is irrelevant.

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