FCC chairman nominee Tom Wheeler comes out in favor of legalized phone unlocking

FCC chairman nominee Tom Wheeler comes out in favor of legalized phone unlocking data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20626956' !== '') ? 'bsd:20626956' : ''; var postID = '20626956'; var modalMNo = '93319229', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"cellphones",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"michael-gorman", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-14d",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319229", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93308280", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});FCC chairman nominee Tom Wheeler comes out in favor of legalized phone unlocking MobileByMichael GormanpostedJun 18th, 2013 at 9:21 PM 0

He was nominated to replace Julius Genachowski as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission a mere six weeks ago, and before he's even got the job, Tom Wheeler's making headlines. Ars Technica reports that would-be chairman Wheeler wants what many (all?) cell phone owners want -- the ability to unlock our phones free from fear of legal retribution. The way he sees things, when folks have bought and paid for their phones and are contract-free, they "ought to have the right to use the device and move it across carriers." Unfortunately, while he's staked out his position on the matter, he has yet to say exactly how he plans to make phone unlocking legal, be it through legislation or other means. The good news is, he's not the boss just yet, so he's got time to address those niggling details while he waits to be confirmed as the new chairman.

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Source: Ars Technica

Tags: fcc, FederalCommunicationsCommission, JuliusGenachowski, mobilepostcross, phoneunlocking, tomwheeler, unlock

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