Shulou(Shulou.com)05/31 Report--

The Federal Communications Commission authorized Verizon to lock its newly purchased phones on its network for 60 days. As a result, leading US operators say they will do so soon, claiming that their aim is to prevent fraud and identity theft. Ronan Dunn, executive vice president of Verizon, said, "after 60 days, the phone will be unlocked automatically."this means that it will be more difficult for fraudsters who order and steal phones-they clearly have no intention of paying." Verizon plans to impose a 60-day blockade "soon".

If you want to know why Verizon needed this license in the first place, it can be traced back to the 2008 FCC auction of 700MHz spectrum, which gave Verizon the precious "Block C". The trading rules require Verizon to unlock the phones it sells and use them for any operator supported by the device. Verizon has adhered to this policy since then, so it has fewer restrictions than ATT, T-Mobile and Sprint. Other operators lock their new phones in their networks for a period of time until the devices are fully paid off, or both.

"We agree with Verizon that it is not in the public interest to strictly comply with unlocking requirements, as it encourages and may even encourage fraud," Donald Stockdale of the Federal Communications Commission wrote in a document yesterday. "the harm associated with identity theft and related forms of mobile phone fraud is very serious."

Verizon claimed that 201000 of its customers were affected by identity theft in 2018, an increase of 46% over 2017, and said mobile fraud cost the company $190 million last year. This prompted it to ask the Federal Communications Commission to make the decision in February. Despite T-Mobile 's objection, Verizon's data are enough to convince the FCC that a 60-day lock-up is acceptable. Verizon's competitors said applying for an exemption would "unlock" the rules. The Federal Communications Commission disagrees and hereby gives the reasons:

This limited exemption will not undermine the basic policy objective of the mobile phone unlocking rule, in fact, it will better serve the public interest. Use locking rules to enable consumers to migrate from one service provider to another on a compatible network. Allowing mobile phones to be locked for 60 days will not seriously affect this policy goal. Verizon said only a "small number" of customers had migrated their numbers or changed operators within the first 60 days of service, while customers who changed carriers typically returned their phones to Verizon within a 14-day return period. Therefore, we agree with Verizon that the 60-day temporary lock-up will not affect a large number of Verizon customers or have a significant impact on their ability to change operators.

The Federal Communications Commission praised Verizon for its limited exemption from Block C, requiring Verizon to automatically unlock the phone after 60 days-even if the device is still in the payment plan, even if the customer does not specifically request it. Fraud is an exception: if Verizon determines that the phone was bought fraudulently, it can lock the device in place.

"We found that the limited 60-day exemption offered here is a reasonable and balanced way to help Verizon combat equipment theft and fraud, with only a slight impact on consumers," Stockdale wrote. However, Verizon didn't get everything it wanted: the Federal Communications Commission rejected its request, announcing that the phone unlocking rule had allowed a temporary locking policy.

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