As
of Saturday 25th January 2013, it has become illegal to unlock your smartphone
and Tablet to place it on another Telecom Provider's Network as stated in the
article “Unauthorized
unlocking of smartphones becomes illegal on Saturday”,
published January 25, 2013 4:57 AM PST by Eric Mack, CNET News.
This
decision was made by the Librarian of the Library of Congress, the body which
has oversight over the enforcement of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright
Act). The library of Congress has made the decision based on the fact that unlocking
smartphones and Tablets basically tampers with the Firmware of the smartphones
and Tablets and thus was illegal. In effect, they’re banning the use of
unlocked unidentifiable smartphones and Tablets on their Telecom Networks.
In
essence, this is the US Government basically enforcing MNP (Mobile Number
Portability) rules by putting in place heavy fines of up to US$50,000 and even Jail
time for those Americans who unlock smartphones and Tablets without permission from
the Telecom Provider.
This
Telecom Provider can easily detect by scanning their Database based on IMEI
(International Mobile Equipment Number) and looking for smartphones and Tablets
that are NOT registered on their Telecom Network. Once discovered, they’d be
sent a Warning Notice to get registered or face heavy fines or Jail time.
Ironic,
as the American Police already use MNP Databases for the various Telecom
Providers via Court ordered Subpoenas to get access to Call Records from
Telecom Providers and thus secure criminal convictions and even locate missing persons since June
2010 as described in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and US Authorities - Enemy of the States”.
The
Mexican Government has even adopted the use of the various Telecom Providers MNP
Databases to fight the growing stem of Drug Cartel Related crime since April of
2010, preceding the American Governments decision by some two (2) months as
stated in my blog
article entitled “Mexico
and MNP A solution to crime in Mexico”.
The
GOJ under the previous JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) Administration had passed a
MRSI Bill that would allow the Jamaican Police similar powers as noted in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and US Authorities - MRSI Bill to be passed to catch criminals”.
The obvious advantages of MNP to Crime Fighting are described in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and MRSI - How it leads to Mobile Number Portability and Crime Eradication in
Jamaica” and “MRSI
and MNP - Where the Spies Are”.
But
back to the US of A!
The
purchase of already unlocked smartphones and Tablets is still allowed, so long
as you purchase a Data Plan with your Voice Plan when you activate it on a
Telecom Provider’s Network. I suspect with time, Unlocked smartphones and
Tablets may become as near-extinct as the Dodo Bird as Telecom Provider partner
with Handset makers to increase their revenue stream by ensuring that all smartphones
and Tablets are locked to a Telecom Provider Network.
It
means, quite simply, that if you live in the US of A and have smartphones and
Tablets on either Telecom Provider T-Mobile or Telecom Provider AT&T on a two
(2) year contract with Data Plan (unavoidable by the way!), you cannot unlock
it to use it on another GSM (Global System Mobile) Network. This rule applies
to a limited extent to CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) smartphones and
Tablets such as those on Telecom Provider Verizon and Telecom Provider Sprint,
but less so, as it’s not as easy to unlock.
CDMA
mobile devices have to be authenticated on their Telecom Network i.e. you have
to get their permission to access the Network instead of just buying a pre-authenticated
SIM Card. Good to note here that Unlocking applies mainly to Voice Calling on
your smartphones and Tablets, something which fewer and fewer people are doing
with their smartphones and Tablets.
Please
this is very different from decision by the Copyright Office in the United
States of America who in July 2010, 3 years ago, also used the DMCA and
arguments presented by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and thus
promptly legalized Jail-breaking as noted in “Feds
say Mobile-phone jailbreaking is OK”, published July 26,
2010 10:31 AM PDT by Declan McCullagh, Politics and Law - CNET News
and further elucidate in the article “On
Call: Go ahead and jailbreak, its legal now”, published
July 27, 2010 2:20 PM PDT by Kent German, CNET
News
- Dialed In.
Jail-breaking
involves making changes to the OS (Operating System) of smartphones and Tablets
to allow it to accept 3rd party Apps i.e. Apple iOS or Google
Android. Unlocking involves making changes to the firmware and thus making it
possible to switch SIM Cards and thus Telecom Networks.
Jail-breaking
allows smartphone and Tablet users to use Apps downloaded to one smartphone and
Tablet on other smartphones and Tablets with similar OS as well as features of
that OS that may be locked. For the
record, App Developers and smartphone and Tablet makers such as Apple are
opposed to Jail-Breaking as it messes up their revenue stream as noted back
then in my blog
article entitled “Apple
and the Copyright Office - Developers Christmas bonus up in smoke”.
Curiously
though, time’s proven that’s not been the case.
App
stealing among Apple Sheep hasn’t increased, as many who like the Walled Garden
Approach of Apple App Store and the quality Apps it presents don’t mind the
US$0.99 to US4.99 for some premium Apps.
Apple
users are spending at a rated of US$15 million in average daily according to
the statistics of Analyst Distimo in “Google
Play is growing faster, but Apple’s App Store brings in way more money: Distimo”,
published 20 December 2012 by Andrii Degeler, The Next Web
and “Google
Play surges, but Apple's App Store is still No. 1”,
published December 20, 2012 7:03 AM PST by Lance Whitney, CNET News.
The
Apple App Store’s revenue mainly comes from in-app Purchases from Freemium Apps
as had long been predicted by my Geezam
blog
article entitled “Smartphones
and Apps – Freemium Games are No. 1”, indicating that
despite getting Apps for Free, Americans and smartphone users in General are
still willing to spend money on what’s become known as the App Economy.
Part
of the reason too may be the lack of Tech savvyness among many smartphone and
Tablet owners, who, like many computer owners are not interested in how the
device works; they just want it to do what it does well and look good doing so.
Fear of voiding their Warranties and not getting tech support to have their
device fixed and thus ensuing problems with ETF (Early Termination Fees) is
thus the result, knowing full well that if it’s broke, they can’t get help to
fix their device.
Throw
in the fear of your “precious”, based on the Gollum-like love for smartphones
and Tablets among Americans, being bricked, and a natural deterrent forms in
the mind of many smartphone and Tablet owners against Jail-Breaking.
The
same is also true for unlocking smartphones and Tablets.
Just
as with the case of Jail-Breaking, a lack of Tech Savvyness and a fear of the
repercussions of unlocking your smartphones and Tablets are keeping many
American walking the line of the straight and narrow. Thus the move benefits
the customer and also the Telecom Providers, App Developers and Handset Makers,
as it means they’re now prevented from switching Networks as they have a mind.
The
Librarian of the Library of Congress argues that since no-one is being forced
to buy smartphones and Tablets as unlocked Feature phones, non-smart phones and
basic Tablets and e-Readers are available at prices as low as US$50 to US$199,
then a rule to prevent unlocking smartphones and Tablets is fair as argued in “Unlocking
your new smartphone is now illegal: What you need to know”,
published JANUARY 26, 2013 BY ANDREW COUTS, DigitalTrends.
After
all, you can easily get a regular unlocked Feature phones, non-smart phones,
basic 7” Tablet and e-Readers at prices much lower than a most popular 2 year
contract smartphones and Tablets. Also smartphones
and Tablets users mainly use the Data Service, not the Voice Services,
indicating that they’re slowly making the transition over to just using Data
Services with VoIP for Voice Calling.
American,
it seems, have submitted to the fact that in order to own a top-of-the-line smartphone
and Tablet, you have to have a two (2) year contract with the mandatory Data
Plan. Now with Unlocking, it means that they have been more committed to their
Telecom Services Provider.
In
essence, you’ve got to be officially registered with a Telecom Provider, thus
enforcing MNP rules, making smartphones and Tablets and the SIM Card they are
using easily identifiable and traceable back to their owners. There is also the
additional side benefits of making smartphone and Tablet owners identifiable
and easier for the Telecom Provider to remotely shut down in case it gets
stolen, as stated in “AT&T,
T-Mobile team up to curb smartphone theft”, published
November 1, 2012 6:07 AM PDT by Don Reisinger, CNET News.
Interestingly using this IMEI Database set up in November
2012 to recover your Mobile account but not your Data for smartphones and
Tablets as described in “Stolen
cellphone databases switched on in US”, published 31
October, 2012 15:57 by Martyn Williams, PCWorld
and “STOLEN
PHONE DATABASE GOES LIVE, AS US CARRIERS WORK ON STAMPING OUT MOBILE THEFTS”,
published November 1, 2012 By Andy Boxall, DigitalTrends
began around the same time that the Librarian of the Library of Congress was
mulling the possibility of making unlocking a Mobile phone illegal.
Now
that they’ve done so, it effectively pins down everyone in terms of who owns
what smartphone and Tablet, as it now illegal to unlock your Mobile device,
making the IMEI Database more accurate. It’ll
be a matter of time, however, after vetting the accuracy of the records shared from
the Telecom Providers, before they start shutting down smartphones and Tablets
that are stolen and arresting people who are swapping SIM Cards on the same or
on Different Networks.
Here
in Jamaica, our Telecoms Market is slowly maturing as we’ve yet to even have
our own Telecom Regulator as had been promised by the JLP Administration in
2011 as described in my Geezam
blog
article entitled “New
Telecom Act Coming for Jamaica – Providers surprised with their Own Regulator”.
This
even as news reaches our ears of yet a another Caribbean Territory, Bermuda,
making strides and establishing its own Telecom Regulator in the very small
island state as reported in “Bermuda
To Launch Telecoms Regulatory Authority”, published Monday
January 28, 2013, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Despite
promises Minister of Science Technology Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell as
it relates to the GOJ (Government of Jamaica) commitment to a Telecom Regulator
as noted in “Gov't
intent on single regulatory body for Telecoms”, published
Monday, January 21, 2013 | 7:11 PM, The Jamaica Observer,
their actions speak otherwise. It’s been approximately a year and six months
since this promise was made as noted in “OUR
to spin off telecoms division- Big 2 backs plan for single regulator”, published Sunday July 24 2011, The Jamaica Gleaner.
MNP should have been achieved in December 2012 as had originally
been promised by Minister of Science Technology Energy
and Mining Phillip Paulwell in the article “Paulwell
promises number portability by December”, published Sunday,
June 17, 2012 BY CONRAD
HAMILTON Senior staff reporter, The Jamaica Observer.
The OUR (Office of Utilities Regulation), the current steward of
the Telecoms Sector until a new Telecom Regulator is set up, is no closer to
implementing MNP (Mobile Number Portability). MNP is necessary to demonstrate
to the NANP (North American Numbering Plan) that we’re efficiently managing the
numbers we’re assigned to get additional numbers as noted in “Jamaica
To Get Additional Area Code”, published Thursday
February 7, 2013, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
The explanation for this
problem goes back as far as 2009 and is mainly due to a lack of proper
recycling of phone numbers by Telecom Providers trying to hold on to their
competitive edge as noted in my blog
article entitled “Digicel
calls for MNP for Fixed Line - LIME's Brave Homefone Xpress coming with Telecoms
Tax and Flat Rate Tariff”.
Mostly promises from the GOJ based on meeting in early January
2013 to establishing a timeline and getting the Telecom Provider to choose
their own MNP contractor to set up the Database at their own expense as noted
in “Gov’t
To Sign Off On Number Portability”,
published Monday January 7, 2013 | 8:59, The Jamaica Gleaner and “Minister
Irons Out Number Portability Timeline With Leading Telecoms Firms”, published Thursday January 10, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Albeit both Telecom Providers LIME and Digicel display an
eagerness for MNP as had been captured in my blog
article entitled “Digicel
calls for MNP for Fixed Line - LIME's Brave Homefone Xpress coming with
Telecoms Tax and Flat Rate Tariff” it’s not
really in their self-interest to do so. The main benefit to them is akin to
that being achieved via the enforcement of the DMCA in the US; structured
transfers of Mobile SIM Cards between phones on the same and different Networks,
thus making money from people paying to switch Networks.
This as it’ll be at their cost as since neither Telecom Provider
trusts the other and thus elaborate schemes would have to be devised to make
sure their Phone Number Database don’t wind up in each other’s hands and not
just the MNP Contractor that they BOTH have to jointly, agree upon and pay to
set up the MNP Database. I’ll bet my salary at ACCENT Marketing Jamaica Limited
that MNP’ll be implemented by the Second Quarter of 2013, as these issues need
to be ironed out.
Upgrades
to the Telecom Act and swift implementation of the Telecom Regulator should
thus be in the offing similar to the ruling by the Librarian of the Library of
Congress to prevent persons unlocking their Mobile phones, smartphone and
Tablets and switching Networks as they have a mind.
A
Benefit to the Telecom Providers as proper Registration via MNP will regulate Data
usage on smartphones and Tablets and thus increase revenue from VoIP and Video
Calling over Data Networks as noted in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and VOIP - a win-win situation for Telecoms Providers”.
Improved
management of Telephone numbers in the Telecom Sector as Jamaicans go crazy
over Smartphones and Tablets, marking the transition toward a Data Centric
Telecom Sector as noted in my Geezam
Blog
article entitled “Apple
iPhone boosts Jamaican smartphone usage as BB goes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”
and my blog
article entitled “Blackberry
popularity wanes as Jamaicans go smartphones - Android and Apple's Smartphone
Revolution” .
Other
non-Telecom Benefits of MNP abound mainly to do with Crime-fighting via MRSI as
noted in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and MRSI - How it leads to Mobile Number Portability and Crime Eradication in
Jamaica” and
Gaming from Supreme Ventures as noted in my blog
article entitled “MNP,
Supreme Ventures Limited, Internet Gambling
and the Royal flush of Smart phones”.
Improve
Crime-fighting for the Jamaican Police as it’ll make a cleaner Database from
which to glean info on suspects via MRSI (Mandatory Registration of Subscriber
Information), once they get the requisite Subpoena from a Supreme Court Justice
as noted in my blog
article entitled “MNP
and US Authorities - MRSI Bill to be passed to catch criminals”.
Thus
while the Telecom Provider in the US of A Get locked down by the Librarian of
the library of Congress in a Telecoms Market that’s already very much mature
and saturated with Mobile phones, our Telecom Sector is in stagnation as we’re
yet to declare the new 700MHz license for Data Services.
We
in Jamaica are at the mercy of our Telecom Providers who are merely eyeing the
money from the coming Data, Postpaid and Fixe mobile and Landline Revolution
now sweeping Jamaica as noted in “2013:
A year for data”, published Wednesday, January 09,
2013, by Camilo
Thame Business Co-ordinator, The Jamaica Observer.
Perhaps
the fact they’re FDI (Foreign Direct Investors) may explain their profit-driven
outlook. With no Regulator, MNP or rules against Unlocking or Jail-breaking,
Jamaicans are yet to benefit from the Safe Haven (2013)
of MNP by banning the use of unidentified unlocked smartphones and Tablets in
Jamaica.
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