The Federal Communications Commission this week formally asked the mobile industry to allow customers to unlock their phones.

The FCC's new chairman, Tom Wheeler, penned a note to Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, the wireless industry trade association, to push for "an amendment to your Consumer Code in which this industry would address consumers' rights to unlock their mobile wireless devices once their contracts are fulfilled."

The commission has been working with CTIA on this issue, but "it is now time for the industry to act voluntarily or for the FCC to regulate," Wheeler wrote, requesting a resolution before the December holiday season.

Any solution, Wheeler continued, must include five parts: a clear and concise policy on unlocking; a promise to unlock devices for customers who have fulfilled their contracts or paid off an early termination fee; customer notification when their devices are eligible for unlocking or free, automatic unlocking when eligible; process requests or explain why such a request has been denied within two days; unlock devices for military personnel who are deployed.

Wheeler said that it appears the FCC and CTIA are in agreement on four of the five recommendations. The wireless industry is apparently not jazzed about notification and/or automatic unlocking, but "absent the consumer's right to be informed about unlocking eligibility, any voluntary program would be a hollow shell," Wheeler wrote.

"We look forward to continuing discussions under Chairman Wheeler's leadership and to ensuring consumers continue to benefit from the world-leading range of competitive devices and offerings. Today's U.S. consumers have a wide variety of unlocked device and liberal carrier unlocking policies available to them," CTIA said in a statement today. "CTIA also continues to advocate for the passage of 'The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act' (H.R. 1123), which would address consumer confusion about unlocking as a result of the 2012 decision of the Librarian of Congress. While CTIA supports giving consumers a robust set of options, it is important for consumers to note that an unlocked phone doesn't necessarily mean an interoperable phone, given the technological and engineering realities of wireless networks."

The FCC's letter comes about two months after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within Commerce formally petitioned the agency and asked that it require wireless carriers to unlock mobile phones, tablets, and other devices for use with other carriers upon request.

At the time, CTIA said that it was "of paramount importance to [educate] policymakers and consumers about the numerous unlocking policy options when considering wireless providers or service plans, as well as the technological realities that exist among different phones and different carriers."

CTIA also issued its support for a bill, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, from Rep. Bob Goodlatte, which CTIA said would "prevent the bulk unlocking of handsets and arbitrage of the handset subsidy system, which can harm consumers and facilitate the sale of stolen smartphones."

At issue is an October decision from the Library of Congress's (LOC) Copyright Office, which gave consumers a 90-day window to unlock their phones without carrier permission before that practice became illegal in January.

The Copyright Office reviews the rules on unlocking (and jailbreaking) every three years, as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This time around, regulators found that "there are ample alternatives to circumvention. That is, the marketplace has evolved such that there is now a wide array of unlocked phone options available to consumers."

That did not sit well with OpenSignal's Sina Khanifar, who added a petition to the White House site asking for the decision to be reversed. It passed the 100,000 e-signature threshold needed for an official White House response, and that response was posted in March, with the Obama administration issuing its support for cell phone unlocking.

In a statement this week, Khanifar said he was "excited to see the FCC pushing for action from the CTIA on device unlocking, and the five elements of Wheeler's proposed policy cover all the necessary components for a forward-thinking carrier unlocking policy."

"The CTIA should respond by moving quickly to enact his recommended policies," Khanifar said. "Wheeler has made it clear that he'll be working to regulate unlocking unless voluntary action is taken quickly."

Still, Khanifer urged the FCC not to "derail the important work being done in Congress on the issue." He put his support behind a bill from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the Unlocking Technology Act, which "would comprehensively reform anti-circumvention and restore a consumer's ability to freely use and modify their devices," he said.

Meanwhile, the bill from Rep. Goodlatte, and its Senate companion from Sen. Patrick Leahy, "would be a short-term unlocking solution that would complement action by the FCC or CTIA and make sustainable software unlocking solutions available to the public," Khanifar said.

For more, check out PCMag's roundup of The Best Unlocked Phones.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. ET with comment from CTIA.

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