Sprint to unlock its phones
Could it be that Sprint has a heart? According to a proposed settlement for a California class action lawsuit it may just have one. Sprint announced today that if the settlement is reached the carrier will provide customers with the necessary codes to unlock their handsets for use on other carrier networks.
If enacted, the move would allow departing Sprint customers to take their phones with them when they leave the carrier. Locked phones, or handsets that are tied to one carrier, have have long dominated the U.S. market but in the last couple years the practice has earned the wrath of consumers.
The suit, which was filed last year in Northern California, alleged that phone locking is anticompetitive. Because a locked phone stops being able to make calls when a customer leaves a carrier, they are unable to use it on a new carrier unless it is unlocked. And because unlocking requires a code, customers are forced to buy a new phone when they sign up for new service.
Sprint's decision is momentous for the U.S. market, and if other carriers follow suit it could cause a huge shift in how cell phones are used here. Unlocked phones provide customers with much more freedom to use a cell phone of their choice. A Sprint spokesman said the carrier would provide the unlock codes once a departing customer's bill is paid. Also, the company would tell new customers how to obtain the unlock codes and it will allow its customer service reps to connect a non-Sprint phone to the carrier's network.
Of course there are a few catches. Like Verizon Wireless, Alltel, and U.S. Cellular, Sprint uses a technology called CDMA so only cell phones that use CDMA will be compatible with its network (former Nextel phones on the iDEN network won't be covered by the unlocking move). CDMA phones will not work on AT&T or T-Mobile, or vice versa, because those carriers use an incompatible technology called GSM. And finally, though an unlocked Sprint handset is technically compatible with another CDMA carrier like Verizon, the new carrier would have to activate the phone for you because CDMA phones don't use SIM cards. And as of now, there's no guarantee they'll do so.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
I'd rather pay a little more and have no contract. Then, carriers might compete for customers with their service rather than locking customers into one or two year contracts. Walt Mossberg recently made an excellent point that the (carrier's) claim that phones would be too expensive really isn't true since the market would respond with cheaper handsets. Cheaper handsets would eliminate the need for a subsidy.
Speaking of subsidies, I've been blown away that AT&T REQUIRES a two-year contract for the privilege of activating an iPhone you bought at the full, unsubsidized price. Is this unprecedented? More amazing, is that so many people are perfectly fine with this. I think the number of iPhone activations really underlines how bamboozled we are. Can you imagine buying a car that only works with Texaco gas? Or a toaster than only works with Rainbow brand bread?
As far as I know, T-Mobile will unlock phones after 90 days regardless of whether I terminate my contract. Is this better since I can use it with AT&T (not that I would) or overseas with a GSM carrier? I don't know what T-Mobile's unlock policy is regarding customers that end their contracts. My guess is they'll unlock it if your contract ends. So is Sprint's new policy really that momentous?
And no, they don't have a heart.