In some countries in Europe it is already obligatory to sell an unlocked version, usually a locked version is also sold. If you examine the pricing closely, it does not really matter which one you get, you end up paying the same amount, either directly (unlocked), or monthly (locked).<p>I expect that in Chile all contracts will either rise in price, or phones will become a lot more expensive to buy.<p>While it sounds like a nice idea, as a consumer you don't really gain that much.
I wonder if this will lead to more restrictive contracts.<p>I joined a gym a while ago that made me commit to a year's membership by taking out a loan for buying a year's pass. This was suboptimal for me because it showed up on my credit report and ran a credit check, but perfect for them because there was no easy way for me to weasel out of my contract, and they could simply pass the debt over to a credit-collection agency if I stopped paying.<p>I wonder if we'll see mobile phone contracts that come with a phone being treated the same way if the phone has to be sold unlocked.
Network locking is a form of money. If I can lock your phone to my network, that's worth money to me because you're more likely to stay with my network. As such, I can offer the phone to you for cheaper.<p>If I can't lock it, I'm going to charge you more. Is this something that requires government intervention? Perhaps, as many people don't understand the issues and may be taken advantage of. IMHO a better solution would be to require a maximum price to unlock phones (10 currency units?) and not get so involved in technology that changes quickly.