A consumer-rights group is bringing suit against US mobile carriers for locking their handsets:
In the lawsuit, the foundation said that because the companies all use the same wireless network standard, called GSM, customers should be able to use the same phone across those carriers' networks just by changing out an easily-replaced unit called a "SIM card" inside the phone.
The carriers may claim that locked handset let them offer cheaper service — because they keep you from using your subsidized handset with another carrier, but I don't buy it. I got a free T-Mobile handset by promising on pain of an enormous cancellation fee to stick with them for a year. In the meantime, why shouldn't I be able to rent a SIM when I go to Toronto and put it in my phone? Why shouldn't I be able to loan my handset to a friend from out of town so that she can put her SIM in it and log on to her service?
(via Hack the Planet)
