In a response to the FCC following a formal complaint, Verizon Wireless has outlined the company’s policy on locked bootloaders. An irate Droid-Life reader became fed up with the carrier’s consistent locking of bootloaders on its flagship devices and decided to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. The reader claimed Verizon’s policy was in violation of the “Block C license,” an agreement the company made when it purchased its 700MHz LTE spectrum. Within the agreement, it is stated that Verizon should not be allowed to “lock a phone,” which many interpreted as a statement that should include a phone’s bootloader. Read on for more and a copy of Verizon’s letter.
Verizon claims that it “has established a standard of excellence in customer experience with our branded devices” and “an open bootloader could prevent Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support because it would allow users to change the phone or otherwise modify the software and potentially, negatively impact how the phone connects with the network.” The carrier’s policy is to provide the best solution “for as many customers as possible” and as we’ve suggested, most consumers likely don’t care about rooting, ROMs or the concept of being “open.” They just want a sleek smartphone that works.
