Consumers Want Unlocked Phones

Consumers Want Unlocked Phones
The Apple iPhone controversy has raised consumer awareness about the
issue of locked cell phones--and that's a good thing.
Mike Elgan, Computerworld
Saturday, October 20, 2007 1:00 PM PDT

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...l?tk=nl_dnxnws

Apple's iPhone hasn't made an obvious dent in the market share of
either handset competitors or carriers that compete with AT&T. But it
has hit those other companies with something else unexpected -- and
unwelcome: The iPhone has sharply raised consumer awareness about the
issue of locked cell phones.

Most U.S. carriers profit from consumer ignorance about the locking
issue. But the iPhone controversy is changing all that.

Millions of cell phone users are suddenly talking about cell phone
locking and asking themselves, "Why is my phone locked?" And that's a
good thing. It's time consumers demand unlocked cell phones from their
carriers.

What's a SIM card?

A SIM card, or Subscriber Identity Module, is a tiny, removable memory
chip used in a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) phone
associated with a specific account and phone number. A SIM card holds
a unique identification number (International Mobile Subscriber
Identity, or IMSI), a unique cell phone number, plus potentially your
address book, some of your text messages and other information.

Theoretically, you should be able to remove a SIM card, place it into
another GSM phone and make a call from your own cell phone number.
Calls made using your SIM card are billed to your account, regardless
of whose handset you use to make the call.

But thanks to carriers, it usually doesn't work that way, at least in
the U.S.

Your phone is probably locked

The iPhone is and will be sold through a single carrier in each of the
countries where Apple chooses to sell it. In some countries, such as
France, locking is illegal. Apple announced this week that Orange SA
will be the exclusive iPhone carrier in France and will sell a locked
iPhone, plus a more expensive unlocked iPhone in that country.

This stark fact makes it clear to everyone that locking and unlocking
is a mere carrier choice, a deliberate snippet of code whose sole
purpose is to limit your freedom and choice so the carrier and handset
maker can make more money.

Apple isn't alone in locking phones, either. U.S. carriers vary wildly
in the degree to which they lock phones.

Some SIM cards are relatively open, run Java and are based on
standards. But many are proprietary "native" cards, which run vendor-
or carrier-specific software that deliberately limits their use in
some way.

A full SIM card lock ties a SIM card to one specific phone. If you get
a new phone, you need to get a new SIM card, too. A "service provider
lock" makes phones work only with SIM cards provided by a particular
carrier. Other locks can block use abroad or with other kinds of SIM
cards.

Locking is easy for the carriers to do. They simply choose the type
and degree of locking. And unlocking is easy, too.

If consumers remain ignorant and demand little from their carriers,
we'll get locked phones and limited options. But if we demand unlocked
phones, we'll force change in the cell phone experience that benefits
everybody.

Locking a phone in order to steeply discount it but prevent it from
being sold at a higher price is legitimate. But carriers should offer
nondiscounted unlocked phones as an option, and customers should
demand them.

What's so great about unlocked phones?

In general, locked phones benefit the carriers at the expense of the
consumers. But unlocked phones can provide a huge range of benefits.

An unlocked phone is handy for, say, traveling abroad, where you can
buy a local, prepaid SIM card to use in your regular phone.

Unlocked phones and carriers that support them provide users with far
more handset choice. This is especially appealing in the U.S., where
phone locking has encouraged carriers to get away with offering very
limited range and quality of handsets. Do you want to use Casio's
rugged G'zOne phone? If you're not on Verizon, forget it. But in an
unlocked world, you could choose practically any phone and use it on
almost any carrier.

Also: New gadgets are coming out that aren't cell phones per se, but
use SIM cards anyway -- everything from listening devices to security
cameras.

The cell phone world is changing fast. The era of one phone and one
SIM card for each user should soon come to an end.

A new age of unlocked phones

Over the next five years, we'll see single phones that support
multiple carriers and two cell phone numbers. We'll also see people
with more than one cell phone, preferably all tied to a single phone
number and user account.

Samsung plans to start selling a new phone called the DuoS D880 in
November in some European markets. The "DuoS" refers to the phone's
capacity for two simultaneous SIM cards, even from two different
carriers. Software installed on the phone tells you which phone number
is ringing and which you're using to dial calls. You can use them
simultaneously and even assign unique ring tones to each number.

Dual SIM cards can be useful because you can use both work and
personal numbers without carrying two phones. When you get a new job,
you can just swap in a new SIM card and keep carrying your own phone
and using your own personal number. If you visit a foreign country a
lot, you can buy one SIM card for that country and another one for
home.

The DuoS D880 isn't the first cell phone to support two simultaneous
SIM cards. Plus, there are hacks and adapters available online for do-
it-yourself enthusiasts. But dual SIM cards are rare. I think that's
about to change.

So is the number of cell phones people will carry.

As handset makers provide increasing choice, people will want it all.
For example, if you pay hundreds of dollars for a beautiful, large
media phone, like the iPhone or HTC Touch, do you really want to carry
that to the beach or while you're training for a marathon? The ideal
scenario would be to have two or three phones and just grab the one
appropriate for the occasion without worrying about what number or
carrier account you're using.

Personally, I'd love to own three phones -- a giant media phone, a
tiny-as-possible phone, plus a ruggedized phone like the G'zOne when
I'm hiking, sailing or otherwise putting the phone at risk.

I should be able to do this without paying for three already-
overpriced accounts and managing three different cell phone numbers.

Phone hackers and creepy cell phone stalkers use a technique called
SIM cloning to copy SIM cards in order to use another person's cell
phone account. Carriers could provide authorized and registered cloned
SIM cards -- or second and unique SIM cards that access the same phone
number and user account.

I don't care how they do it, as long as they do it. Sure, they can
charge a little more for this service, but not as much as full
additional accounts.

We cell-phone users should demand fully unlocked cell phones and
reward carriers who provide unlocked phones with our business.

And carriers need to prepare for the future. Nonphone SIM card
devices, widespread use of multiple-SIM phones and multiple phone SIMS
are all coming. And customers will demand freedom and choice.

As for the iPhone? Well, Apple always thinks different. The iPhone may
someday be the last locked cell phone you can buy. Unless you live in
France.

Mike Elgan writes about technology and global tech culture. Contact
him at mike.elgan at elgan.com or his blog, The Raw Feed.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,13...l?tk=nl_dnxnws

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Ablang schrieb:
> [...]
> Saturday, October 20, 2007 1:00 PM PDT
> [...]

Aaah, breaking news!