Verizon: FCC Should Adopt Handset Unlocking Rules

Verizon urged the FCC to move forward on a handset unlocking mandate, the focus of an NPRM commissioners approved 5-0 in July (see 2407180037). Some commenters question whether the FCC has legal authority to impose rules (see 2409240038). A 60-day locking period for postpaid phones “is the minimum necessary to help providers combat handset fraud and theft, but a longer, 180-day locking period for prepaid is necessary to enable wireless providers to continue offering subsidies that make phones affordable for prepaid customers,” Verizon said in a filing this week in docket 24-186. Regardless of the time period commissioners agree to, “a uniform unlocking policy that applies to all providers is paramount; the record is replete with evidence that uniformity will benefit both consumers and competition,” the carrier said. Verizon met with staff from the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics.