The Consumers Union began a campaign to convince the Federal Communications Commission to ban the placement of software locks on mobile phones. The CU launched a web site called www.EscapeCellHell.org to collect petitions from mobile phone customers in order to forward them to the FCC.

Janee Briesemeister, director of EscapeCellHell.org for The Consumer Union said, "Just like phone numbers, software locks are another way cell phone companies prevent customers from taking their business elsewhere. Forcing consumers to purchase a new phone when they switch companies is unfair, wasteful and bad for our environment." [ via Phone Scoop ]

Operation Gadget launched a series of articles on handset unlocking last week. The first article in the series was The Importance of the Handset Unlocking Policies of U.S. Mobile Phone Carriers.