The Netherlands has taken a significant step forward in giving its citizens freer access to mobile communications. Parliament has legalized the use of carrier-unlocked SIM cards . An amendment to the Telecommunications Act will also eliminate carrier- locked devices , guaranteeing freedom of choice of network for any mobile device.
The Netherlands will be the first country where free SIMs are legal. In most countries they are directly illegal and in those that are not regulated, they do not exist.
Users can thus buy a phone from any company that sells it, including an operator, and then choose a different contract with another because it is more advantageous to them. Until now the closest thing was the free Dual SIM devices, but we are not even close to what is being achieved here. Obviously, this new situation will mainly benefit smartphones but tablets with support for mobile networks may be affected. We think mainly of iPads or some Samsung tablets.
Users and manufacturers benefit
Users won't be the only ones to benefit; manufacturers will also be able to start selling devices that already come with these integrated cards and then wait for the customer to sign up for a contract on their own. This will allow them to sell their devices with fewer obstacles , without having to negotiate launch prices with carriers, and allowing them to choose a different specialized or generalist distributor that offers better terms.
It should not be forgotten that sometimes the contracts and the exclusivity imposed by the operators is a brake on the sales of some devices, beyond the fact that the manufacturer has a good product and makes a convincing marketing campaign.
Apple already proposed a solution in this regard in 2010 but could not carry it out due to the legal problems that they entailed.
In their efforts to amend the laws that make unlocked SIM cards illegal and decriminalize them, manufacturers won't find operators lobbying them, but they will find users doing the same. Thus, telecoms, as good intermediaries, can't always avoid being caught in the middle, something that's becoming increasingly common, especially in our country.
Source: CNET