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NTT DoCoMo to Sell All Phones Unlocked

Jul 6, 2010, 12:41 PM by Eric M. Zeman

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest purveyor of mobile devices and services, has announced that all phones sold beginning in April 2011 onward will be sold without carrier-specific locks. By selling unlocked phones, customers will be able to take the SIM cards (subscriber identity modules) from competing carriers and use them in their NTT DoCoMo handsets. NTT DoCoMo is the first major Japanese carrier to take such a tactic, though it did so after the Japanese government asked for more openness in the wireless industry. DoCoMo's move is partially aimed at rival Softbank, which is the lone distributor of Apple's iPhone (which it refuses to unlock) in Japan. In the U.S., most handsets sold to AT&T and T-Mobile customers are locked to those specific networks. Customers wishing to change networks must either use a different device or have their device unlocked by the carrier before it will accept a SIM card from a different operator. Both Sprint and Verizon say that their devices are unlocked and can be used on other networks, though they don't have user-replaceable SIM slots.

iStockAnalyst / Kyodo News »

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Comments

This forum is closed.

This forum is closed.

flip mode

Jul 6, 2010, 1:33 PM

hmmmm

idk, correct me if im wrong but you dont really hear about big business of cdma phones being unlocked/flashed to a different carrier due to the crazy security and red tape. i use the word "business" lightly. it would be nice to grab lets say an evo 4g or a moto droid and use it on lets say u.s cellular because you don't want to be stuck with an enforced data plan even if you don't need one and you want to use the device primarily on wifi. as far as i'm aware uscc is one of the remaining few who don't enforce a mandatory data plan for smart phones. it's the little freedoms in life i miss the most 🤣

Jayshmay

I concur!!!

T Bone

US Cellular can afford to do that because their network is small with few smartphones.....if it was as big as one of the 'big four' with tons of smartphones on it, they would have no choice but to follow suit for the same reason all the other carriers...
(continues)

muchdrama

Jul 6, 2010, 7:49 PM

American carriers...

...please follow suit.

Mark_S

It would be nice if they did wouldn't it?. Corporate greed and selfishness are as American as Coca-Cola and Corn-dogs on a hot summer day. ☹️

...

kingstu

Jul 6, 2010, 1:05 PM

Every phone should be unlocked!!!

Separate the phone cost from the contract cost. Why should the operator care if the phone is used on another network as long as they have the user signed up to a contract they should be forced to pay it out? Finance the phone when you get a rate plane and have it all spelled out clearly for the consumer.

wdfichtel

This is exactly how I've tried to explain it to my dad, who's contract is up with Sprint this month and will be switching to T-Mobile... you can always get a discounted phone and pay $59.99/mo for unlimited talk and be under contract, or you can pay f...
(continues)

T Bone

The carrier cares because they sold the phone at a steep discount and if the customer cancels early or has the option of using the phone elsewhere, they lose money.

Sorry but I think the subsidy lock system works well for almost everybody, the Nexu...
(continues)

justfinethanku

Jul 6, 2010, 1:15 PM

Both Sprint and Verizon say that their devices are unlocked and can be used on other networks

Oh, thats cool. Can I use this EVO on Verizon then? Or the Droid X on Sprint?

Short answer... no.
(well, I guess the long answer is also no)

How are these phones unlocked again?

bp3dots1

justfinethanku said:
Oh, thats cool. Can I use this EVO on Verizon then? Or the Droid X on Sprint?

Short answer... no.
(well, I guess the long answer is also no)

How are these phones unlocked again?

The p...
(continues)

...

fahrende

You can register any ESN/MEID onto any CDMA network and you will get basic Call and SMS.

However, any data dependent services will be a black hole as the data configuration settings tend to be a black hole for CDMA. I've never done it with smart p...
(continues)

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