How the **** will carriers know if you are running an unlocked phone? As far as I know, there is no way of telling unless you physically have the phone in your hand.
I don't think they'll know.
Soo... I guess this also means any businesses who do phone unlocking will also become illegal or will be restricted in some way (their websites will be blocked, eBay will remove all of their listings, etc.)?
I think eBay is already removing listings. Basically, instead of suing people who unlock their phones, they'll go after the people who sell phone unlocks because it'd be impractical to sue every single person who unlocks their phone.
So apparently this law applies ONLY to phones that are purchased after January 26th. If you bought your phone before this date, this law doesn't apply to your phone. Still, ******ed law that will never be enforced.
And why is this not front page? Everyone should know this.
I'm sure the DMCA will be enforced. It's just that we're probably not going to get in trouble, the unlocking services are probably going to be the ones paying the fines.
Pffft. Another stupid lobby based law. Ill disreguard this one just like the others. Arrest me.
I agree, the DMCA is stupid. It's so broad that the Library of Congress has to make exceptions every three years. So every three years, blind people have to lobby the Registrar of Copyrights/Library of Congress so that it isn't illegal for them to have their ebooks read to them.
Don't see the issue myself.
If you mortgage a house, the house is not your property until you've paid off the mortgage, you have to ask your mortgage provided for permission to do most things. Same for a contract mobile, until you are out of contract, the phone is still property of the telco. I'm sure if they've subsidied the phone, they don't want you using it on other networks.
And if I buy the phone no commitment from the carrier? Or if I've complete my contract? Problem is, the DMCA doesn't make any distinction between whether I paid full price for the device or whether it was subsidized, and neither does it say anywhere that carriers are obligated to unlock the phone after the contract is up. I could complete a two year contract, ask for a phone unlock, the carrier can say no, and that would be legal.
To add to what HeyCori mentioned in regards to carriers refusing to unlock devices, I have an idea on how to standarize the process, and add a way to force Qualcomm, manufacturers, and CDMA 2000 based carriers to unlock devices:
2. CDMA carriers, manufacturers and Qualcomm must come with a system to allow devices out of contract to be carrier unlocked, and have them listed in a database accessible to all CDMA carriers (listing IMEI, ESN, and MEID related to each device), in similar way as they currently do for lost/stolen devices. Also, GSM carriers must find a way to have devices listed on the lost/stolen database CDMA carriers use.
4. All devices must be global (GSM/CDMA) and must have programmed all frequencies for both radios, as well as the operation and network configurations for every carrier programmed, but defaulted to the carrier where the device is sold (the database should be ready and online by the time the changes are implemented). Featured phones must be global as well.
Are CDMA phones locked? I don't think they are. I always thought that the problem was that CDMA carriers would refuse to activate phones that weren't sold by them even if it supports the proper bands for their network.
And I don't like forcing devices to be global. It'd add to the cost of the device when maybe someone doesn't need a global device.