There's probably no country on the planet where carrier-locked devices are as prevalent as they are in the US. With a device that's locked to a specific carrier, you get access to easier monthly payments and pretty incredible device offers. The network carrier gets to keep you for longer, and you get to save money. Everyone is happy.
The duration for which you stay locked to a carrier is where things differ, and it is probably the one thing that makes carrier-locked devices less profitable than they could be for the carrier. In the case of Verizon, its devices only stay locked for 60 days, and it desperately wants that to change. In fact, so badly that it is petitioning the FCC right now.
Verizon Wants Your Phones to Stay Locked for Six Months; Triple the Current Duration
The longer that a carrier can keep your phone locked to its network, the longer that it gets you to stick around and give it money. It's a lot harder to sell a device that is carrier-locked than one that is unlocked, so there's less of an escape even when you don't actually like the network. You want to break your contract? There are fees attached to early termination, too. The longer the locking period, the better.
In the case of Verizon, its locking period is 60 days, which is the shortest of the big three mobile carriers in the US. Here are the locking periods for other carriers:
- Verizon: 60 days
- AT&T: 6 months
- T-Mobile: 12 months
While a shorter locking period seems like a major boon that Verizon can advertise to the benefit of its users, it clearly doesn't like that aspect of its business anymore. At the moment, Verizon is petitioning the FCC and the Trump administration to let it lock its devices for longer. Three times longer, to be exact. It wants to be able to lock its smartphones for six months.
Backtracking? Verizon Agreed to the 60-Day Locking Period in the First Place
You might be wondering why Verizon's locking period is so much shorter than that of the other big players in the industry. There's a good reason for that, and what makes it slightly amusing is that the carrier wasn't forced into the situation. It agreed to it voluntarily.
In 2008, Verizon bought the licenses for the 700MHz spectrum, and in 2021, it purchased TracFone. Both of these business moves came with certain expectations of the carrier, and its current unlocking period came as a requirement in both of those deals. That's precisely what makes the company's current moves quite annoying for consumers.
According to the carrier, quicker unlocks are bad for you, the consumer, and they also make theft a tastier prospect. Whether or not you agree with this, it is clear that the bottom line is the most important thing in this entire saga; otherwise, why would Verizon have agreed to this in the past but be fighting it in the present.
