| |||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||
Locking is commonLocking is commonPosted Sep 28, 2005 17:44 UTC (Wed) by eru (subscriber, #2753)In reply to: Free the Cell Phone! (Wired) by man_ls Parent article: Free the Cell Phone! (Wired)
As far as I know, locked phones are the norm in most
(Log in to post comments)
Locking is common Posted Sep 28, 2005 18:38 UTC (Wed) by rdowner (subscriber, #3960) [Link] It's certainly the case in the UK and has been for some time - I have a handset that is about 5 years old and it is locked to a specific operator. Under UK regulations the operator has to unlock the phone (subject to certain conditions - I think they can refuse to do this if the phone is tied to a 12-month contract) but can charge the customer to do so.
I think something similar happens in Ireland too - a friend visiting me from Ireland was unable to put a UK SIM into her Irish Vodafone handset.
--
Locking is NOT so common Posted Sep 28, 2005 23:37 UTC (Wed) by gallir (subscriber, #5735) [Link] No, it isn't. Last 5 phones I bought here in Spain were unlocked. If youalready have, or you sign a contract, you can always buy an unlocked phone. As the parent explained, it's a legal requirement. Even if you buy a locked telephone --due to special discounts or pre-paid cards--, you can ask to unlock it --for free-- after six months has passed since the purchase date. I _think_ this is a european regulation ("directive"), if so, the situation should be quite similar in all european countries. Unlocked telephone are not expensive neither, last phone I bought is a triband Siemens A62 (after my last travel to USA where my old dual band Siemens didn't work) and I payed for it 50 euro (in a well known supermarket).
|
|||||||||||