On Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 11:10 AM, Tony White <tony.mzungu@gmail.com> wrote:
Unlocking a phone or modem is *not* illegal - changing the IMEI *is*
illegal - although, you may be breaking a contract with the telco if
you unlock a device locked to their network - for which you may face a
civil action. Check what you signed when buying the modem.
Tony
Hi Tony, I'm sharing a thought on this.
I think if there is any contacts signed then it would be illegal to crack but there should be a caveat emptor ( buyer beware ) in the said contract clauses. And when Telcos do not perform on service delivery which is also part and parcel of the platform contract, they would easily be in breach of it. Most of these Telcos and SPs are lucky that consumers do not take any civil action against them as time is very restrictive...
Some reasons for one to hack into a modem and create it for open access is :
1) They are unhappy with the provider and are now being forced to spend more money to choose an alternative provider.
2) Their provider may not have coverage in areas which the Telco did not mention to them at time of purchase.
Universal open access modems. Can you imagine the old analogue days if modems were locked to specific vendors? And open access hardware popularity drove prices even further downwards.