Consumers wanting to get their phones unlocked will no longer have to venture into sketchy alleys or behind hidden doors to do so. The Federal Communications Commission and the Wireless Association recently announced five major U.S. carriers have agreed to allow the unlocking of certain phones and tablets, according to Jenny Paul, Marc Martin and Marty Stern on K&L Gates’ TMT Law Watch Blog.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Corp., T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular have all committed to unlocking eligible devices at a customer’s request, say the authors. Former policies of banning the unlocking of devices have been heavily criticized, including by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress, note Paul, Martin and Stern.

Devices may not be unlocked (and thus used on a competitor’s network) once a contract term has ended or, if prepaid, one year after the initial activation. The carriers have also agreed to notify customers when they are eligible to have the device unlocked. The new policies are expected to take effect within a year.

Read more: http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnology...#ixzz2oJpX6VS4