If you have been following the news, you might be aware that the petition to make unlocking of cellphone legal has managed to garner over 100,000 signatures, and that’s not the best part. According to the petition’s creator, Sina Khanifar, it seems that the White House has heard their pleas and they are fully supporting the petition and will be pushing through the legislation to make the necessary changes. For those not living in the US and are hearing this for the first time, it was announced in 2012 by the Librarian of Congress that after the 26th of January 20123, the unlocking of cellphones would be made illegal.
This is a pretty big deal because this restricts the options consumers have, plus it also decreases the resale value of devices as well. This will also force consumers to resort to paying roaming charges while travelling overseas when it would be cheaper and more logical to swap SIM cards to a local carrier during their travels. Unfortunately while the White House did acknowledge the petition and promised to work to change it, there was no time frame given as to when these changes are expected to take place, but it’s still a step towards the right direction.
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