#unlocked phones

The recent report of Chile implementing the mandatory unlocking of all phones that are sold in the country this month got me thinking if this is possible in the Philippines. The current norm is that all mobile phones and most mobile devices (the iPad 2 3G isn't locked with Globe) being sold and provided by local telcos are given out to subscribers locked for the entire contract period. In other countries, like Hong Kong or Singapore, handsets sold by telcos are required to be unlocked. Despite that, you wil still see gadget stores in Mongkok, HK selling locked phones although at a much cheaper price than the international versions. The rationale behind locked phones is that since the carrier is the one subsidizing the price of the handset, they wanted their subscribers to use the device on their network and recoup the amount from usage of the plan or credits. But in a country like the Philippines where prepaid users outnumber postpaid users 5 to 1, Filipinos tend to get their phones elsewhere and just buy a Php40 SIM card in the nearest sari-sari store. If and when mandatory unlocked phones be implemented in the Philippines, we might see those postpaid plans and prepaid kits to end up much more expensive than what they are right now. Read more in our articles including "Why mandatory unlocked phones ain't happening here?" and "Infinix HOT 70 priced in the Philippines".