Unlocked Phones with a Plan - A transparent business model

As you may already be aware, the 26th of January 2012 is the day that ends the "free carrier unlocks" in the USA. So from here on, you could serve time if you attempt to unlock your phone yourself. This marks the end of the 90 day period provided by the Library of Congress, who oversees matters related Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Personally, whenever I purchase a phone I ensure that the phone is unlocked from the carrier, and if it is locked to a carrier I request that for the phone to be unlocked. In my case, I generally purchase the phone and the plan separately.

Firstly, one of the main reasons for this is to ensure that I have the freedom of choosing my carrier when I want and not be tied down by contract. Its all too often you hear about the carriers being slow to re-act in some shape or form, or you find a carrier offering cheaper prices than your plan.

Secondly, having the ability to choose the carrier allows your phone to be used in other countries, without having to use roaming features. Everyone knows that the charges for roaming, calls and data, is daylight robbery. Every time I land in another country, where I plan to spend close to a week, the first thing I do is to get a local sim and notify a bunch of people of new number. When you get a local sim, the operator generally asks you if your phone is unlocked - if it is then you're out of luck and you will need to live with the roaming charges, buy a new phone, or stay off the grid for a while. Most people, first time tourists, do not know the difference between a locked phone and an unlocked phone they normally don't have a need to switch carriers and these are the same people who are disappointed once the realise the limitation in another country.

I personally don't get the point of a carrier locks, essentially it allows a carrier to restrict you to their network only while you are still under contract from them. Some carriers actually unlock your phone if you are on a certain plan (i.e they are able to profit off you), however, the plans which will prevent you from getting an authorised unlock are the ones where you are under the impression that you have a great deal however, there is a risk factor that the carriers are betting on - cheaper outlay price with the thought that you will spend it big with them. This essentially would mean that if they offer an unlock and you start to use another carrier (even if you are under contract) they end up of loosing due to the cheaper outlay price.

This almost feels as though it is shady business, and it may be depending on how you look at it. Although the carriers are not being upfront it really is the responsibility of the consumer to be aware of a deal too good to be true. Next time that you are purchasing a phone on via a plan, ask the sales person if after commencing the plan whether they will unlock the phone for free ? If they agree, you know that they have forecasted the amount of the plan are profiting purely on the monthly charges. If they dis-agree then they are most likely betting that you will consume a lot, and hence will profit from your consumption. You can work this to your advantage if you plan on consuming little, and stick to it.

Hope this helps.