"Following this decision, Verizon must follow a looser set of guidelines set by the CTIA wireless trade group, which says carriers should only unlock a customer's postpaid phone after their contract is up, when they finish paying off the device, or following the payment of an early termination fee. Meanwhile, the CTIA's code says carriers should unlock prepaid phones "no later than one year after initial activation.""
"The change comes after Verizon asked the FCC to waive the 60-day unlocking requirement last year, arguing that it "benefits bad actors and fraudsters." The FCC began requiring Verizon to unlock phones faster as a condition of its purchase of 700Mhz spectrum licenses in 2008. It later granted Verizon permission to wait 60 days until unlocking customers' phones, a policy the carrier extended to Tracphone following its acquisition."
""Today, criminal networks are specifically targeting Verizon handsets due to the company's unique unlocking policies," the FCC's filing says. "In total, the Commission's current rules cost Verizon hundreds of millions of dollars each year in deadweight loss - money which could have been invested in network upgrades or consumer friendly deals.""
Verizon will be allowed to follow CTIA wireless trade group guidelines and can delay unlocking customer postpaid phones until contract end, device payoff, or payment of an early termination fee. The CTIA code requires prepaid phones to be unlocked no later than one year after initial activation. The FCC waived Verizon's previous 60-day unlocking requirement after a waiver request citing fraud concerns and economic costs. The 60-day rule originated as a condition of Verizon's 2008 700MHz spectrum purchase and was later extended to Tracfone. The change takes effect one day after the order release and remains until an industry-wide approach is decided.
Read at The Verge
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