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US: Obama takes mobile phone unlocking agenda to FCC

By  |  September 18, 2013

The Obama administration formally requested that the Federal Communications Commission require wireless carriers to unlock mobile devices at the request of customers, say repots.

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    The initiative was first launched by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce. According to the Administration, the legalization of unlocked cell phones, which would allow consumers to take the same phone to a competing carrier, will boost competition in the US telco industry.

    In its petition, the NTIA says that unlocked mobile phones “should produce more service innovation, lower prices and more consumer-friendly terms and conditions” as a result from strengthened competition.

    A legal exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which outlawed the unlocking of cell phones, was not renewed by Congress late last year, making the act illegal once again.

    Full Content: Silicon Beat

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