Verizon: Handset Unlocking Rules Need to be Uniform

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2024 – Verizon, a major wireless service provider, is stressing the need for uniformity in mobile handset unlocking rules in order to avoid consumer confusion and promote competition.

“Consumers should not have to navigate an array of unlocking policies and procedures that vary among providers,” Verizon’s Senior Managing Associate General Counsel Tamara Preiss said in a Wednesday filing with the Federal Communications Commission. “The ad-hoc, asymmetric locking policies that currently apply to some providers and not others result in an uneven playing field, reducing wireless competition and ultimately harming consumers.”

In response to proposed handset unlocking mandates by the FCC, Verizon asserted that the uniform requirement would allow all wireless providers sufficient time to limit fraud and enable device subsidies while avoiding customer confusion.