Request asks the FCC to move forward with rulemaking requiring carriers to allow consumers to switch carriers while keeping their mobile devices 

Earlier this year, Klobuchar introduced legislation that directed the FCC to take action on cell phone unlocking

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today said that the Administration’s petition requesting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) move forward with cell phone unlocking shows that the effort is gaining support. The request from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) asks the FCC to move forward with rulemaking requiring carriers to allow consumers to switch carriers while keeping their mobile devices. Earlier this year, Klobuchar introduced the Wireless Consumer Choice Act, which directed the FCC to take action on cell phone unlocking.

“As mobile devices continue to become more and more important in our daily lives, consumers need to have the choice to change their service and keep the phones and devices they have already purchased,” said Klobuchar. “This action is a positive step forward, and I will continue to work to make to protect consumer choice and ensure healthy competition in the wireless market.”

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and chairs the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, and has been a leader in standing up for consumers and boosting competition in the marketplace.  At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing earlier this year she pressed officials from the wireless industry to allow cell phone unlocking. She authored legislation—the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act—to strengthen consumer protections in the wireless industry, including looking at allowing consumers to unlock their phones. Klobuchar has also pushed the FCC to examine the competitive impact on consumers from the wireless carriers’ exclusive arrangements with cell phone manufacturers.

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