Cell-phone unlocking bill passes House, bulk-unlocking still in the gray

A little over a year after unlocking all new cell-phones in the USA was made illegal, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act (H.R. 1123) was approved by the House yesterday. The bill will return the ability of people to unlock their cell phones for use with a new carrier, once their original service contract expires.

Although extending the exemption in the DMCA, which enforced the restriction was supported from both Republicans and Democrats, a last-minute change made by GOP leaders said that the bill won't permit "bulk unlocking" - that is, the formation of businesses ...