Consultant Makes Case for Handset Unlocking Mandate

Consultant Whitey Bluestein argued in favor of the FCC adopting uniform handset unlocking standards. Current nonmandatory standards “were adopted 11 years ago" with “little or no consumer input,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 24-186: “Since then, industry structure, technology, networks, spectrum, devices, services, usage and regulations -- virtually everything comprising the mobile ecosystem -- have changed dramatically.” Among the changes, Bluestein cited smartphones are now “increasingly powerful” and their cost “has nearly doubled, averaging $823 in 2023, and expected to increase.” FCC commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 in July proposing that all wireless providers unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud” (see 2407180037).