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AT&T, Others Fight Back Against Pre-Paid Phone Traffickers

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FREE COUNTRY!

chainmail311

Feb 7, 2008, 6:49 PM
I buy a phone. I have the right to do whatever I want. If I want to hack and resell it, that's my right. Don't take that away from me. You're getting your outrageous phone price. If a carrier doesn't like it, tough. I don't sign any license agreement to buy a phone. It's a free country, dangit.
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renardlee

Feb 7, 2008, 10:04 PM
well yes u can buy ur phone and do whatever you want with it but when u are using that phone with a network u are making a legal agreement with that company to use their property which is their spectrum and network. within the law they can make any restrictions and terms. if someone infringes that they have the right to defend their property and protect their assets. Some people may hack cellphones to do unauthorised activities with the network. yes u can hack ur phone but if the company feels that that the hacked phone is in violation of the terms they set and can potentionally threaten their property(being the cellphone network) they have the right to protect it by filing a lawsuit.

yes we are "free" country, but we have laws to fol...
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chainmail311

Feb 7, 2008, 10:15 PM
I think as long as I'm paying my monthly "without crisco" cellular bills, and the company jerks me around by making me sign with an "activation fee" even if I've already been a customer (sprint and t-mobile: 18 activation fee on all upgrades) then I have every damn right to use an unlocked cell phone.

Are these guys making phones do illegal things? No, they're just unlocking them. I'm sick of getting jerked around by these money hogging companies. Especially when they tack on fees that cell phone employee's can't explain. (I'm looking at you, Sprint.)

Let me pick my phone, darnit.
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badsky2k

Feb 7, 2008, 10:59 PM
I have worked with a lot of law enforcement and these types of phones are favored by drug and human smugglers. Basically a throw away. Cutting off this supply will not cure the problem but it will cause them to have to resort to other measures. Anything that can be done to disrupt the drug & human smuggling trade is OK in my books. Free country yes, but as the man said before me, we are a nation of laws. If you do not like a law, get it changed. Breaking a law just because you don't like it is anarchy and believe me, you really do not want that! 🤨
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thegoodlife

Feb 7, 2008, 11:45 PM
LOl @ drug and human smugglers, AT&T wants complete control of the phones that they sell. Thats why we pace behind Europe and Japan in cellular technology, its all about control.
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tnt2k1

Feb 7, 2008, 11:48 PM
hrm guys. tell you what, why dont u guys start up your own MVNO? Develop a business model, show how you can profit from it or keep it afloat, then post it here on phonescoop. Wow, that would be a cool phonescoop competition.
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thegoodlife

Feb 8, 2008, 12:05 AM
LOl I wouldn't sell GSM phones to begin with, prepaid or post paid it doesn't matter its an International technology, and to try to lock it down so that only AT&T customers can use the phones is an ridiculous idea. Hey Just ask the thousands of unlocked Iphone users who don't have At&t service. So they are not going to stop the problem people will continue to find work arounds.
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Globhead

Feb 8, 2008, 1:34 AM
We can't, because there are large carriers pulling this kind of BS.

But then again, most of them didn't make money either.
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en102

Feb 8, 2008, 11:50 AM
Someone has made a business model with a poor design.
US/Canada = subsidized phones to lure you into a contract
The rest of the work: Allow unlocked phones - buyer beware.

You don't need an MVNO to make a profit. Why don't you just sell unlocked phones - it could be more profitable. Compete against the carriers to sell phones.

AT&T can lock the IMEI down if they want to.
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chainmail311

Feb 8, 2008, 12:39 PM
With Verizon allowing "any handset", I would just make a business of selling world unlocked phones.

Apparently there's a store in Vegas where you can buy unlocked phones. I think they're mostly used, not sure.

And unlocked phones being used by drug lords? So what. I'm not a drug lord, I want an unlocked phone. That's like Apple's DRM'ed music. It only hurts people that don't know how to get rid of the DRM. And it forces honest people who BUY their music legally to learn how to un-DRM music files.

I think if enough people are breaking the law, then the law needs change....(in some cases. I'm not opening up a huge can of worms here. No, marijuana consumption should not be legalized. That's a drug, not a cell phone. Please, no threads...
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Anxiovert

Feb 9, 2008, 1:47 AM
You guys need to read the article at RCR. This is not about just the unlocking of Go Phones. It's about the smugling of AT&T phones to other countries.
Oh, so you think that if people start 'breaking the law' by running red lights, stop signs, etc.... you think it'd be a good idea to do away with traffic laws?
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chainmail311

Feb 9, 2008, 11:31 AM
Phonescoop's OP led me to believe they were getting into trouble for unlocking the phones.

Sending them to other countries? Meh. I could care less.

running red lights: no stupid. that puts lives in danger. trafficking cell phones don't. unlocking cell phones don't. Stop being ignorant.
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Versed

Feb 9, 2008, 1:41 PM
Anxiovert said:
You guys need to read the article at RCR. This is not about just the unlocking of Go Phones. It's about the smugling of AT&T phones to other countries.
Oh, so you think that if people start 'breaking the law' by running red lights, stop signs, etc.... you think it'd be a good idea to do away with traffic laws?



And whats the correlation between buying goPhone's, unlocking them and stealing Stop signs?

I guess that and unlocking goPhone's and being/supporting terrorism, drug dealing and human trafficking is the same thing?
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lonerato

Feb 8, 2008, 11:54 AM
thegoodlife you know that NTT Docomo and Softbank lock their phones right
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Globhead

Feb 8, 2008, 1:32 AM
There is no law against reselling phones.

But smugglers could just buy their phones at Walmart. They don't need them unlocked or through a reseller.
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remusrm

Feb 8, 2008, 12:02 PM
I have worked with a lot of law enforcement and these types of phones are favored by drug and human smugglers. Basically a throw away. Cutting off this supply will not cure the problem but it will cause them to have to resort to other measures. Anything that can be done to disrupt the drug & human smuggling trade is OK in my books. Free country yes, but as the man said before me, we are a nation of laws. If you do not like a law, get it changed. Breaking a law just because you don't like it is anarchy and believe me, you really do not want that! Eh?

come on... so everyone in europe and the rest of the world is human trafficker and drug dealer... heck i preffer one of these phone to give away when i do not want to use my real phone..
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Globhead

Feb 8, 2008, 1:26 AM
But there isn't a contract for prepaid phones, which is not only part of the definition but often advertised.

If the purchase of the phone required an agreement to activate it on the seller's service for any length of time, THEN you would have a point, but we would also be talking about a different subject.
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Knightlyjay

Feb 8, 2008, 4:58 AM
For most prepaid phones there are terms and conditions you agree to when you purchase and activate the phones. For most, these T and C's are something we blow by, like software licenses. But if you read into them, most say that this device will be used on so and so's network.
Remember that these phones are part of the company's business model and therefore are supposed to generate revenue for that company. Many companies subsidize the cost of the device (even in a prepaid situation) in the hopes that the long term revenue will help the profit margins.
Now I'm not going to say that the companies are losing money in general, just that there is not a lot of money in prepay for most companies. According to RCR last year, the average ...
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Globhead

Feb 8, 2008, 12:49 PM
Software licesnses are just that. Prepaid phones are a purchase of the actual phone, not the purchase of a license to use it.

I may be guilty of saying "wholesale" rather than "sustainable" prices as the principle cutoff. It is possible to sell at wholesale, or even just over wholesale, and lose a lot of money money, although I am still pretty sure they are in fact below wholesale prices (going on both the prices themselves and the fact that it is worth buying one or two at a time at a store rather than from a wholesaler).

I could argue against your assertion about prices and simultaneous refusal to argue about it, but I will just say the carriers surely disagree with you, as they claim to be losing millions of dollars due to this su...
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durkadurkha

Feb 8, 2008, 2:17 PM
corporations always say they are losing money... they do this because they project high results for the quarter or even the year and when they dont meet those expectations they post it as a loss...
they then post those losses in their tax statements for 1 reason- so they pay less taxes for the year (because they "lost" money)...

for example
DaimlerChrysler Makes $7.3 Billion In 2006, Chrysler Group Posted a Loss Of $1.5 Billion... (because health insurance went up for all of its employees)



its a loop whole to dodge democtrats raising
taxes on corporations (see michigans tax system and you'll understand)
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chainmail311

Feb 9, 2008, 12:21 PM
Yeah, and I don't blame them. I friggin hate taxes.

I should call the IRS and say I lost tons of money last year cause I didn't feel like working a 40 hour week.

Hahhahaaa....
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durkadurkha

Feb 9, 2008, 4:21 PM
🤣 🤣 I've got 72 tardies over the last year at work... i work for a call center!!! its either shoot myself in the face at my cubical or go home early... i choose the latter,
i think im going to call the IRS too!!
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CS2006

Feb 8, 2008, 9:43 PM
And the last time I checked that freedom was extended to businesses as well. You want it both ways: Limit what the corporations do but don't put any limits on what I can do. Life does not work that way. That is why we are a society of laws. We protect the interest of the consumer and the interest of the corporation. Both have a right to exist and thrive. The courts decide the grey issues.
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chainmail311

Feb 9, 2008, 12:28 PM
Listen: corporations have rights to. They have the right to NOT sell prepaid phones. I have the right to purchase the phone and do whatever the hell I want with it.

That's how it is. Plain and simple.
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CS2006

Feb 11, 2008, 3:23 AM
Plain and simple?
AT&T takes a loss on the prepaid phones because they are depending on revenue from prepaid airtime. If you get what you want you will end up paying way more for the handsets than they are selling them for now. Trust me, the system isn't broke so it doesn't need fixing.
It can't be both ways. Either a customer gets a low price on a locked handset or they pay the high price for an unlocked one.
I know I am going to take some heat here, but what I sense from you is a lot of consumer greed. you know wanting discounts you are not entitled to, subscribing to features you have no intention of keeping in order to get a lower handset price. Whatever happened to honor and integrity?
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chainmail311

Feb 11, 2008, 5:25 PM
You're retarded, in a few words.

I'm an employee. I'm ALL for buying a handset outright, and I usually don't "unsubscribe" to features to get a lower price. Hell, I paid 180 for a friggin katana II.

I AM, however, an advocate against corporations, which are usually crooked.

If they're losing money, good. I think they're crooked anyway. Especially when a "cancellation fee" is in place. I think that's way crooked. I'm a consumer advocate. Not a corporate whore.
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