Starting today, U.S wireless carriers will have to abide by policy agreements laid down by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) regarding device unlocking.
Under the new law, users can unlock a smartphone or a tablet as per their need. Prior to the new policy implementation, carriers in the U.S locked the SIM slots on the devices they sold which did not allow users to switch to a different carrier for a better deal for service. However, the CTIA Wireless Association Consumer Code will now require them to unlock devices on request and set out clear rules for when the carriers have to comply.
The CTIA proposed policy rules that all the major carriers agreed to, with February 11, 2014 as the official adoption deadline. Soon after the proposal, President Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act on August 1, 2014. Major carriers in the U.S like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint (phones sold before February can only be unlocked to international carriers, not other US carriers), T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular, have all subscribed to the same industry cellphone unlocking standard.
Prepaid devices, users will have to wait a year before they can have their devices unlocked while post-paid devices will qualify for unlocking as soon as the device is paid off or the service contract ends. Unlocking for current customers will be performed at no cost, and at “a reasonable cost” for non-customers and former customers.