The following commentary by FTCR President Jamie Court was broadcast
on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 on the Marketplace Radio program on
NPR. Click here to listen to the audio of the commentary.
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Lisa Napoli – Anchor: This is Marketplace. I’m Lisa Napoli. Lots
of us can’t live without our cell phones, but most of us can live
without our cell phone companies. Even though you’re allowed now to
switch companies and keep your cell phone number, you usually can’t
keep your phone. Consumer advocate Jamie Court explains why.
Jamie Court – Commentator: Sick of cell hell? Stuck with no
cell phone service when everyone else has those perky black bars come
up on that little screen, no problem? Ever feel like you just know
there’s gotta be a better carrier?
Well, a few years ago, the FCC said you could keep your cell
phone number when you switched networks. But they forgot one little
thing — to force carriers to let you take your cell phone with you.
So now, your cell number may be portable, but that doesn’t mean your cell phone is.
You very likely paid for your cell phone when you signed up for
service. But what your service provider didn’t tell you is they
secretly put a programming lock on your phone that prevents it from
being used on another company’s system.
That way they’ve locked you into their service unless you are willing to spring for another phone.
The practice of handset locking is like vandalism. The cell
phone service provider bought the phone from a cell phone maker and
literally tampered with it before selling it to you.
It’s like the Prius dealer modified the Prius gas tank so you could only buy gasoline from Shell gas stations.
That’s why my consumer group filed a lawsuit a last year against T-Mobile and Cingular over the issue.
These companies’ phones generally operate under the same,
so-called GSM technology using SIM chips and were designed to be
interchangeable.
Users should simply be able to use their old phone on the new
service. But the software lock prevents it. Unfortunately, our legal
case is still unresolved.
So what’s a cell phone user who wants to transfer service to do?
First, identify what type of technology your cell phone uses.
Sprint and Verizon don’t use the GSM system. And the software lock on
their phones is generally referred to as SPC.
If you want to unlock your cell phone, just go to Google. Type
"unlock SPC" or "unlock SIM" and you’ll have more choices than you can
imagine on how to free your phone.
Companies that specialize in unlocking phones will do it for
you for about twenty bucks. They’ll either give you a code to unlock
your phone or do it for you.
Then make sure your new cell phone carrier accepts unlocked
phones. Some carriers may try to discourage you and tell you their
network can’t provide all the bells and whistles if you’re bringing
your old phone.
Ultimately, as long as the network technology is compatible, they shouldn’t be able to say no.
Finally, if you’re buying a cell phone from your carrier ask
that it not be locked. Whatever you buy this Christmas, you should own
all the keys.
If enough people start demanding that cell phones come
unlocked, then by next Christmas you should be able to jingle your way
to another provider without any hassle or throwing away 20 bucks.
Lisa Napoli – Anchor: Jamie Court is the author of "Corporateering" and he runs the site consumerwatchdog.org.
By the way, we’re podcasting now. Check out the iTunes directory
or our website, Marketplace.org, for details. In Los Angeles I’m Lisa
Napoli. Enjoy your day.
