
U.S. Said to Investigate AT&T and Verizon Over Wireless Collusion Claim - QUFB
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/technology/att-verizon-investigate-esim.html
======
IBM
>The investigation was opened about five months ago after at least one device
maker and one wireless carrier filed formal complaints with the Justice
Department, two of the people said.

Betting it's Apple. They're probably eager to get rid of SIM slots.

~~~
reaperducer
Yep. My guess is Apple and T-Mobile.

------
joecool1029
Related but the IMEI blacklist is the definition of collusion. It's done
serious damage to the used phone market.

Even if an IMEI comes back clean, there's nothing stopping former owner from
reporting it as stolen later on and causing the phone to become worthless
across all providers in the US.

I'm not pro-theft, but there's no way to be 100% sure a device is going to
work and not flag when purchasing used anymore. Apple's method of doing icloud
lock was a far more elegant solution to the theft problem.

~~~
ndesaulniers
Something very wrong is going on with IMEI blacklist.

We had a brand new phone stop connecting to T-mobile's network (in the US).
When we went in to the store, they told us the IMEI was reported as a stolen
phone. I brought back my receipt showing it was a new phone when I got it.
They said they could not unblock because they didn't put the block in place, a
carrier in Mexico did. The phone has never been used outside of the country,
to the best of my knowledge. When I called the carrier in Mexico, they told me
it was not possible for them to blacklist the IMEI of a device that's never
been on their network, and that they had no record of my IMEI.

I ended up returning my phone, at the expense of the manufacturer.

Also, frequently when I sell my old phones on eBay, people love to ask for the
IMEI to check the blacklist, but I believe they can also be programmitically
swapped (the potential buyer has a blacklisted/stolen phone, and simply asks
for a valid one), so I never provide it.

~~~
sitepodmatt
Shouldn't this be the retailers problem, I've have kicked up a shit storm for
a replacement there and then.

~~~
ryanlol
It should be your telcos problem if they’re refusing to give you service which
you paid for because of your IMEI.

------
rdudek
Good, screw them both. Had issues with AT&T in the past not liking my unlocked
Samsung Note phone. They would not provision it fully and caused my service to
suffer.

------
rdiddly
Wow, you mean "the undeniable value we provide, our awesome service and
uncompromising commitment to the customer" aren't enough to keep customers
around?

------
GW150914
_In a private meeting of a task force called G.S.M.A. North America this year,
AT &T and Verizon pushed for the ability to lock phones to their networks,
bypassing the purpose of eSIM technology, said Harold Feld, a senior vice
president of Public Knowledge, a nonprofit consumer group, who was briefed on
the meeting. Verizon has said it needed to be able to lock down phones to
prevent theft and fraud._

To prevent theft and fraud?! They literally have no shame, and I hope the
government throws the book at them. Telecoms and ISP’s are just the worst of
the worst, along with banks, and both need aggressive oversight to stop them
from outright robbing us all and calling it “holding your money for
safekeeping.”

~~~
rrdharan
Apple’s Kill switch actually has dramatically reduced fraud rates.

[https://www.igeeksblog.com/apple-kill-switch-reduced-
iphone-...](https://www.igeeksblog.com/apple-kill-switch-reduced-iphone-theft-
worldwide/)

Short of Google building something like this, with all the concerns and
disputes that would lead to, it seems like the carriers almost certainly need
to build something like this for Android phones?

------
swoongoonz
>lock a device to their network even if it had eSIM technology.

Why not just buy a new sim card?

~~~
maxerickson
eSIM devices don't necessarily have a slot.

