Chile Now Requires All Mobile Phones to Be Unlocked

[dgstorm]

Now this is something that every country on Earth should stand up and take notice of... the Department of Telecommunications of Chile just implemented a new rule that requires all mobile phones that are sold in the country to be unlocked. Besides the fact that it makes modding devices much easier in Chile, it also means that you can take any phone and make it work with any carrier within that country.

In fact, the Chilean government has even taken it to the next level, and the rule is pseudo-retroactive. It is worded such that any locked mobile phone purchased prior to the January 16 date is to be unlocked by the carrier free of charge. They implemented a formal procedure to make the process easier for customers. The carriers will be required to put up a webpage where the user can enter the IEMI, device model, and some other info for security purposes, and the phones can then be unlocked by the carrier. Reportedly, they are even working towards creating rules that would make all numbers portable as well.

It would be fantastic if something like this were passed in the United States, but what do you wanna bet that the various carriers would spend millions lobbying Congress to stop it from happening...

Source: SlashGear

 

[nikecar]

I'm not eating in Chili's again then.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

I am against government regulation. If unlocked phones are so in demand, then one company would do it and corner the market. Let the free markets drive this, not some dictator that has his own ulterior motives for this.

 

[rubiksc00p]

Wow... Just wow... Not sure what to say... =P It's nice, but (not to get political) why is the government mandating what the phone companies do... :blink: :icon_ lala:

Besides, there is going to be a lack of competition on the HW side of things, remember back in the day when it was ATT/iPhone vs. Verizon/Droid? That made a great competition. Now its all the companies/iPhone vs. Tmobile, and it makes for a great competition too! :happy3: But even with Android, look how much competition it provides for the companies when say Verizon has the Razr, then everyone competes with that phone and company... Like the fact that ATT will likely get the Note. etc... :biggrin:


:hail: Competition!

 

[JerseyFirefighter]

I am against government regulation. If unlocked phones are so in demand, then one company would do it and corner the market. Let the free markets drive this, not some dictator that has his own ulterior motives for this.

I disagree. The free markets are flooded with consumers that have been preconditioned to settle for whatever option is available. With obvious exception to a staunch stance on something that the masses overwhelmingly feel is a necessity, the average person and the vast majority will just settle with the options in front of them in lieu of nothing at all.
While I am no fan of governmental regulation on a number of issues, I will side with this particular instance. This is something that big corporations are capitalizing on as a group creating headaches for people in their country. We see it as a potential to root and mod, whereas the driving factor for them seems to be able to purchase a piece of hardware and own it beyond the manufacturer's rules and regs even beyond warranty period.


I would love it if the manufacturers would build in an internal clock to count from time of activation to warranty expiration to unlock the BL OTA

 

[justin82]

i am torn on this . i like ideas of phones being unlocked, but don't like government total control .

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

I disagree. The free markets are flooded with consumers that have been preconditioned to settle for whatever option is available. With obvious exception to a staunch stance on something that the masses overwhelmingly feel is a necessity, the average person and the vast majority will just settle with the options in front of them in lieu of nothing at all.
While I am no fan of governmental regulation on a number of issues, I will side with this particular instance. This is something that big corporations are capitalizing on as a group creating headaches for people in their country. We see it as a potential to root and mod, whereas the driving factor for them seems to be able to purchase a piece of hardware and own it beyond the manufacturer's rules and regs even beyond warranty period.


I would love it if the manufacturers would build in an internal clock to count from time of activation to warranty expiration to unlock the BL OTA

The age old "the government knows what is best for the individual than the individual does" argument. Sorry, ain't buying that.

 

[Dave12308]

It's not anything exciting from a modding standpoint. They mean it's unlocked as in not locked to a carrier. The bootloader can still be locked.

The thing about the bootloader is, from the average consumer's standpoint; there is absolutely no reason for the bootloader to be unlocked. (notice the bold italicized words, so please don't crucify me over that statement)

The phone itself, on the other hand; is a different story altogether.

 

[bp328i]

Wow... Just wow... Not sure what to say... =P It's nice, but (not to get political) why is the government mandating what the phone companies do... :blink: :icon_ lala:

Besides, there is going to be a lack of competition on the HW side of things, remember back in the day when it was ATT/iPhone vs. Verizon/Droid? That made a great competition. Now its all the companies/iPhone vs. Tmobile, and it makes for a great competition too! :happy3: But even with Android, look how much competition it provides for the companies when say Verizon has the Razr, then everyone competes with that phone and company... Like the fact that ATT will likely get the Note. etc... :biggrin:


:hail: Competition!

I would have to diagree with you here. I think this could make the hardware better, much better.

I mean just think you would be able to pick any phone that was out and not just ones that your carrier offered. The phone manufacturers would no longer have the comfort of knowing that they can send mediocre devices to the best carriers and sell a ton of them.

This would force the phone manufacturers to put out top of the line phones if they want to sell them.

 

[smokiedabong]

Wow... Just wow... Not sure what to say... =P It's nice, but (not to get political) why is the government mandating what the phone companies do... :blink: :icon_ lala:

Besides, there is going to be a lack of competition on the HW side of things, remember back in the day when it was ATT/iPhone vs. Verizon/Droid? That made a great competition. Now its all the companies/iPhone vs. Tmobile, and it makes for a great competition too! :happy3: But even with Android, look how much competition it provides for the companies when say Verizon has the Razr, then everyone competes with that phone and company... Like the fact that ATT will likely get the Note. etc... :biggrin:


:hail: Competition!

Wow, I had no idea ATT created the iPhone and Verizon Android, it all makes sense now. I heard Sprint is making a Windows 7 phone with quad-core and Cricket Wireless is developing the Galaxy S3 and Xperia Play 2

 

[mykl376]

They mentioned number portability in the article, I guess Chili didn't have that before either? At least we have here. I do think if you own the phone, you should be able to use it with any carrier it's able to work with. With a subsidized contract price, that might not be for 2 years after activation, but then it should be yours to do with what you wish.

The analogy that comes to my mind is that of console specific video games. Game companies want to make the most money possible, and they can sell more of the same game on multiple consoles, 360/PS3/Wii, etc, than if a game is locked to one system. Epic makes Gears of War for the 360 cause Microsoft gave them gobs of money, but without that contract they would make their game for as many consoles as possible.

If you want me to buy your phone, make it kick-ass, then I'll go with the carrier that suits me best. I like the idea.

 

[tjk629]

This would nice if we had a unified standard cell network in the states.

 

[czerdrill]

I can unequivocally say I'd much rather live in the US then Chile haha

 

[JSM9872]

Ok guys. This clearly started to get out of hand so we had to clean it up. This is a good topic and we would prefer to leave it open so from here on out let's keep the flaming and political talk out of it. Period.

Thank you!