Spring Nextel Agrees to Unlock Phones for Departing Customers
October 27, 2007 12:35 PM | Sprint Nextel | Comments (0)
| According to the Associated Press, Sprint Nextel Corp. wireless subscribers may no longer have to purchase a new cell phone if they transfer to a new carrier. As part of a proposed class-action settlement Sprint has agreed to provide departing Sprint PCS customers with the code to unlock their cell phones' software. This will allow the cell phones to operate on other networks using CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access Technology) as long as the handset met the networks' technical standards. Sprint's Nextel phones which use iDEN technology cant be switched to AT&T or T-Mobile because they use GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) technology. Sprint made the offer as part of the proposed settlement of a California class-action lawsuit, filed last year, accusing the company of anticompetitive practices. The plaintiffs claimed the software "lock" forced customers wanting to switch carriers to have to buy a new phone, throwing up a barrier to competition. |
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A similar lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County, Florida, and is covered by the proposed settlement. On Oct. 2, an Alameda County Superior Court judge gave the settlement his preliminary approval. A final approval hearing hasn't yet been scheduled. Sprint doesn't expect to pay any financial damages as part of the settlement, other than possible legal fees.
Sprint said it will share the unlocking code with all current and former subscribers once their phones are deactivated and their bills are paid. The company also will add information about the locking software and how to obtain the unlocking codes in the list of terms and conditions of service given to new customers, and instruct its customer service representatives on how to connect a non-Sprint phone to the Sprint network. The settlement covers customers who bought a Sprint phone between Aug. 28, 1999, and July 16, 2007.
T-Mobile is facing a similar class-action lawsuit in California. Users of the iPhone, which is locked to the AT&T network, filed two separate lawsuits last week against the carrier and Apple Inc., claiming its use restrictions and a software upgrade that disables unlocked iPhones constituted unfair business practices.
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