T-Mobile and AT&T say US regulators should drop a plan to require unlocking phones within 60 days of activation, claiming that locking phones to a carrier's network allows cheaper handsets to be offered to consumers deliver. “If the Commission mandates a uniform unlock policy, it will be consumers – not carriers – who stand to lose the most,” T-Mobile wrote in an Oct. 17 filing with the Federal Communications Commission.
The proposed rule has support from consumer advocacy groups who say it will give users more choice and lower their costs. T-Mobile has been criticized for blocking phones for as long as a year, making it impossible to use a phone on a competitor's network. T-Mobile claims that with a 60-day unlock rule, “consumers risk losing access to the benefits of free or heavily subsidized handsets because the proposal would force carriers to limit the supply of their most attractive handsets.”
If the proposed rule is implemented, “T-Mobile estimates that its prepaid customers, for example, would see subsidies drop by 40 to 70 percent for both lower- and higher-end devices, such as the Moto G, Samsung A15 and iPhone 12,” according to the carrier. “A handset unlocking mandate would also leave carriers little choice but to limit their handset offerings to cheaper and often lower-performing handsets.”
T-Mobile and other carriers are responding to a call for public comment that began after the FCC approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in a 5-0 vote. The FCC proposes to “require all mobile wireless service providers to unlock their handsets 60 days after a consumer's handset is activated with the carrier, unless the service provider determines within the 60 day period that the handset was purchased through fraud.”
When the FCC proposed the 60-day unlock rule in July 2024, the agency criticized T-Mobile for locking prepaid phones for a year. The NPRM pointed out that “T-Mobile recently extended the lock-in period for one of its brands, Metro by T-Mobile, from 180 days to 365 days.”
According to T-Mobile's policy, the carrier will only unlock mobile devices with prepaid plans if “at least 365 days have passed since the device was activated on the T-Mobile network.”
“You bought your phone, you should be able to take it to any carrier you want,” FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said when the FCC proposed the rule. “Some carriers already work this way, others don't. Some have even recently increased the time their customers have to wait before they can unlock their device by as much as 100 percent.”
T-Mobile lockout policy tougher
T-Mobile executives, who also argue that the FCC does not have the authority to impose the proposed rule, met with FCC officials last week to express their concerns.
“T-Mobile is passionate about winning customers for life and explained how its cell phone unlocking policy greatly benefits our customers,” the carrier said in its post-meeting. “Our policy allows us to provide access to high-speed mobile broadband on a nationwide 5G network via handsets that are free or heavily discounted discount off the manufacturer's suggested retail price. T-Mobile's unlocking policy is transparent and there is absolutely no evidence that this policy causes harm to consumers. T-Mobile's current unlocking policy also helps T-Mobile combat cell phone theft and fraud by sophisticated international criminal organizations.”
