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AT&T, Verizon Under US Investigation For Collusion To Lock In Customers (nytimes.com)
bongey writes: AT&T and Verizon are currently under investigation for colluding with the GSMA standards group to thwart eSIM technology and hinder consumers from easily switching wireless carriers. eSIM technology lets people remotely switch wireless providers without having to insert a new SIM card into a device. According to The New York Times, the two companies "face accusations that they colluded with the GSMA to try to establish standards that would allow them to lock a device to their network even if it had eSIM technology." The Justice Department opened the investigation roughly five months ago after at least one device maker and one wireless carrier filed formal complaints. Compare cell plans at Wirefly to see the current plans being offered by AT&T and Verizon.
Is everyone enjoying their runaway capitalism?
The collusion did not just happen, like yesterday. It started when Hussein Obama was the President
How come the Obama administration didn't take any action, back then?
regarding locking handsets down... so they'll get off scot-free....
just another day at the office for this shitty administration and big business.
Kill yourself, you worthless piece of trash.
*cough cough cough*
Instead of a carrier lock, I'll have a device lock. How can I be sure that I can move my network ID from one phone to another? And what about that pocket full of SIM cards that I can just plug in when I go overseas?
Have gnu, will travel.
like to complain about their cell carriers. If I suggest we regulate they don't like that because regulation's bad, m'kay. If I suggest we break them up they don't like that because they don't want to pay roaming charges. If I suggest we leave them alone they complain about stuff like this.
Well, we either do something or we do nothing, but the cell phone companies are going to do stuff whether we like it or not.
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Verizon and co colluded to prevent people from switching from easily changed SIM cards to some electronic system that'd make it harder to switch carriers? Verizon?
And now they're being sued for being anti-competitive?
Is this bizarro world?
*checks who the President is*
Oh wait, yes, yes it is. We're in the worst timeline, which means somehow Verizon has temporarily become one of the good guys. Weird.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Do you just post this in every thread or did you see the word 'collusion' and get triggered?
It's only better if the entire process can be handled without dealing with a carrier storefront activation process, otherwise swapping SIM cards is dead easy and gives the carrier you're moving from absolutely no way to block it (barring a carrier locked phone).
Will phone makers have some magic process that allows me to enter the data held by the SIM (and, ideally, save it, so I can e-switch between eSIM profiles)? Please tell me it won't involve a web site or some other transactional system that won't work in half the countries, half the time.
Part of me thinks eSIM makes some sense but it also seems like the prime beneficiary are Apple and other handset makers who are wringing their hands over physical ports, not consumers who want to change carriers.
And as usual, it's easy to see how the handset makers and carriers will collude against the consumer. The carriers will give in to the handset makers desire to not have a slot, the handset makers will make sure switching eSIM data is complicated and requires a store visit or some other carrier impediment.
Note to all you bed-wetting liberals - this is the ONLY form of collusion that is a crime in the US code - that between corporations looking to screw consumers.
Oh how awful. Perhaps in ten years time they'll agree to a no-admission-of-liability settlement and a fine of $PROFIT_MADE_BY_WRONGDOING * 0.1
That'll sure show them.
As far as locking is concerned, if you've paid outright for a device, it's yours and shouldn't be locked. If you have a subsidized or financed phone, I'd concede to (though I still don't like it) locking only for the period of time that it takes the carrier to recoup its value or the phone is paid off. As for ESIMS, I don't know much about them to speak to that issue, only that portability is a good thing and if that helps with that I'm good. My biggest beef with the wireless carriers here in the US is that for the large part, they don't support a lot of cool, new tech type devices. It's really frustrating to see that a lot of the dual screen, tri-screen and other unique or stainless steel encased chunks of techie awesomeness, that work just fine overseas, are not supported on most of the big US carrier's networks. I'm 55. I've waited a long time since the original Trek for my techie toys, um tools and I'd appreciate it if they would work here in the US.