Wireless and the Law – Page 2 – Wireless and Mobile News

White House Responds Unlocking Okay if You Own W/O Contract

03/08/201303/04/2013 by Lynn Walford

The White House has responded to the over 100,000 petitions for unlocking cell phones. It supports unlocking of cell phones that are paid for and free from a contract. The President will work with the FCC and NTIA to help clean-up laws so that it is not longer a criminal offense to unlock the phone you own.

The White House stated that it "agrees that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones and tablets without risking criminal or other penalties. "

If 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 especially secondhand and gifted phones, noted the statement from R. David Edelman , Senior Advisor for Internet, Innovation, & Privacy.

FTC Guidelines 4 Mobile, Apps & Wireless

02/04/2013 by Lynn Walford

The Federal Trade Commission is giving reccocommendations for the mobile ecosystem for privacy, disclosure, tracking and apps. The agency has ...

Unlock iPhone Samsung Galaxy & Android vs Rooting Jailbreak & New US Law Tips

01/27/201301/26/2013 by Bryan Johnston

There has been a practice of unlocking by owners of iPhones , Android and Samsung Galaxy devices including tablets in order use the device on another network or carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile. A new law goes into effect January 26 which bans unlocking phones without the carriers' permission. In reaction to this law there is now a petition circulation to change it.

First off, if you have an unlocked device, there is very little chance that will ever get in trouble as long as you are not a device trafficker. Unlocking is different from jailbreaking or rooting that changes the original iOS or Android software to allow it load other software or perform new functions. Unlocking the bootloader allows developers to load non-market apps onto the device for testing. The bootloader tells the device what to load at startup an is usually determined by the carriers' wishes for the device manufacturer.

AT&T 2 Refund Data Charges 4 Grandfathered Subs

11/08/2012 by Glibert Shar

As a result of an FCC investigation, AT&T agreed to pay $700,000 for forcing grandfathered pay-as-you-g0 subscribers to full data plan. The company is also refunding customers.

Some consumers who replaced phones under warranty or insurance, or who moved were switched to the monthly data plans, even though AT&T had said the “grandfathering” policy would continue to apply.

iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S III: Smoke Peace Pipe or Monty Python?

08/24/201208/16/2012 by Lynn Walford

We at WiMo News can't tell if the court room drama being played out between Apple with its iPhone posse and Samsung with its Galaxy of attorneys is a cowboys and Indians saga or a quirky comedy of errors.

Today, Apple's attorney was told by Judge Lucy Koh after receiving a 75-page document with 22 witness, "unless you’re smoking crack you know these witnesses aren’t going to be called.”