Overview
- Verizon will now follow the CTIA unlocking policy, with prepaid phones eligible after one year and postpaid devices unlockable upon request only after contracts or financing are satisfied or an early termination fee is paid.
- The waiver applies prospectively, so phones activated on Verizon before the order’s release date keep the automatic 60-day unlock policy.
- The FCC rejected calls to cap the new lock period at 180 days, saying the CTIA standard provides sufficient consumer protections.
- Regulators cited extensive fraud and trafficking as justification, including Verizon’s report of about 784,703 devices lost to fraud in 2023 and law-enforcement support for longer locks.
- Consumer and device-rights groups objected that automatic unlocking boosts competition and reuse, while market reporting showed Verizon shares slipping about 2% after the decision.