This might make things easier.
Per TechHive and AT&T’s company blog, in the wake of efforts being made by consumers, politicians and the the top librarian at the Library of Congress to permit unlocking your own mobile phone is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), AT&T has gone on the record to state that the company won’t impede these efforts and will assist where possible.
“I want to be completely clear that AT&T’s policy is to unlock our customers’ devices if they’ve met the terms of their service agreements and we have the unlock code,” vice president Joan Marsh wrote in a company blog posted Friday entitled “Bottom Line: We Unlock Our Customers’ Devices.”
“It’s a straightforward policy, and we aim to make the unlocking process as easy as possible,” she added.
Marsh explained that the company will unlock a customer’s phone as long as the carrier can obtain the unlock code for the device and the phone’s owner has had an active account with AT&T for at least 60 days, the account is in good standing, and there’s no unpaid balance on it.
“If the conditions are met, we will unlock up to five devices per account per year,” Marsh wrote.
AT&T will not unlock devices that have been reported stolen, though.
The carrier’s unlock policy is consistent with the one aired by the White House in a response to an electronic petition criticizing last year’s ruling that phone unlocking was illegal. That petition garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
“The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties,” wrote R. David Edelmen, White House senior advisor for Internet, innovation and privacy, wrote in the Obama administration’s official response to the petition.
“[I]f you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network,” he added.
“It’s common sense,” he continued, “crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers’ needs.”
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.