FCC May Be Inclined to Remove Verizon's Handset-Unlocking Mandate: New Street
The FCC may approve Verizon's request to remove the handset-unlocking requirement that the carrier agreed to, but that may not completely address the carrier’s long-standing problems with subscriber churn, New Street’s Blair Levin said Thursday in a note to investors. The FCC sought comment last year on broad unlocking rules, while Verizon has asked the agency to remove its own unique mandate, which was a provision of its acquisition of Tracfone and purchase of 700 MHz C-block licenses in a 2008 auction (see 2507090030).
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“Carr has made his ‘delete, delete, delete’ deregulatory initiative a centerpiece of his chairmanship,” and getting rid of an old regulation “would be consistent with that agenda,” Levin wrote. “Carr has also emphasized a need for uniformity in regulations.” Making it more difficult for subscribers to switch could help Verizon, but its churn issues predate the earliest unlocking mandate, he noted. “There are multiple causes of churn.”
Verizon also could face political issues, Levin added. Among them is "Republican anger" about Verizon handing over Republicans’ call records related to the 2020 election during a Biden administration investigation, he said.