> On 10/2/07, Alan B. Pearce wrote: >> >I do not quite understand that so many phones in >> >US are locked to a paticular carrier. >> >> It seems to be normal in the UK as well. There is quite a market on ebay >> for >> unlocking software. > > Is this mainly due to lack of competition? Maybe that is the case in US > and the Mobile phone penetration in US is not high compared to western > Europe. In western Europe, the penetration rate is very high, mostly > around > or even over 100% (UK: 115%). Singapore is around 100% as well > but the leader in Asia is Hong Kong at 125%. For China, it is only around > 30%. > > Reference: > http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2006/03/phone_for_every.html > > Or maybe there are more hackers in US and Europe so that the operators > want to give them chances to hack. ;-) > > Regards, > Xiaofan > -- I THINK (but do not know) that phones are largely locked because their sale is subsidized by the monthly service fees. We quite often get phones for free when we renew for another year or two. I think they SHOULD allow you to use phones purchased elsewhere that are unlocked. Perhaps some carriers do. They MAY have concerns about fraud when people are using equipment the carrier did not supply. They are attempting to provide an end-to-end solution to their customers the same way wire line telecoms did back in the 1960s and before. Then you could not connect anything to the telephone line. The phone company also supplied the telephone book. They got after companies that sold plastic protective covers for the book (with advertising), claiming this cover was an "illegal attachment." For more on US telephone companies of the 1960s, see "Ernestine calls Mr.Veedle" at http://www.lilytomlin.com/videohome.html . Harold -- FCC Rules Updated Daily at http://www.hallikainen.com - Advertising opportunities available! -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist