O2 to unlock the iPhone?
By Maggie Holland,
O2 is keeping users guessing as to whether it will allow them to unlock their iPhones when their current contracts come to an end.
At present, the mobile giant is still the exclusive network for the iPhone in the UK, but some users have already by-passed O2's official line of not sanctioning unlocking by doing it themselves on the sly.
Both Orange and Vodafone recently announced that they will offer the iPhone on their networks by the end of the year and early 2010 respectively. As such, it seems O2 is mulling things over and still trying to decide whether or not it will provide parting customers with an unlock code to port their devices over to a competitor.
"We did not offer unlocking at the end of a customer’s iPhone contract as we had the exclusive contract for the iPhone in the UK," an O2 spokesperson told The Register. "Obviously, that situation has changed... and we are currently working through what will happen."
IT PRO contacted O2 for more information about the comments, but while a spokesman confirmed they were genuine, he added that the company did not have anything further to add.
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Locked Phones
All mobile phones should be supplied unlocked. I consider it to be a restrictive practice and the government should step in and ban it. The phone companies would not loose out as you are tied to them by an 18 or 24 month contract and they are only too happy to supply you with a new phone at the end of the contract.
By Birdmaniw on Tuesday Oct 6
Never did understand this practice....
As the carriers have stated that the phones are subsidized at a lower price for the reason they need to sign you to a contract for a specified length, then it stands to reason that when the contract is up, the phone is fully paid for. At that point how can they NOT allow the phone to be unlocked?? The phone is not rented, it is OWNED by someone. They've lost all claim to it and should be forced to unlock it.
By Ip_tluce5f89e88d on Tuesday Oct 6
Can't have it both ways
If your phone stops working 13 months into a 24 month contract and you ask the supplier to fix it you're left in doubt whatsoever - it's YOUR phone, it's YOUR problem, and it's repaired at YOUR expense. But the networks seem less keen to acknowledge it as YOUR phone if you ask them to unlock it. All phones should be sold unlocked from day-1, but I can see the reality of locking them to the end of the contract. Of course, there should be an organisation to protect our interests here. But OFCOM are as much use as p**** into the wind. Their latest research? --- More children than ever before can now access the internet directly from their bedrooms, new Ofcom research reveals. Or --- What’s the coolest smartphone app? Pathetic.
By Gradivus on Tuesday Oct 6