Cell phone firms sued for ‘locking’ handsets

LOS ANGELES — A consumer watchdog group sued three cell phone companies on Monday for “locking” their phones to make it harder for customers to switch carriers.

The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights accused AT&T Wireless Services Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Cingular Wireless, of using software in their handsets that prevents them from being used on a competitors’ network.

The practice effectively thwarts recent federal regulations allowing people to retain their phone numbers when switching mobile carriers, according to the lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit accuses the companies of engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices under state law.

“If you can use the same phone number with other carriers, you should be able to use the same phone,” said Jordan Lurie, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.

The phone companies defend their policy, saying they routinely subsidize handset cost. Companies would lose money if they allowed customers to then use those phones with another carrier.

“What we do not wish to do is subsidize the cost of a handset for another carrier,” said Tony Carter, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Cingular Wireless.

Carter said he had not seen the lawsuit. T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Wash., did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Art Navarro, a spokesman for Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T Wireless, said he had not seen the lawsuit, but called the company’s sale of handsets legal and pro-competitive.

Consumers Union sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission in March protesting the practice of locking handsets. The CU argued that consumers pay the cost of subsidizing the handset purchase over the life of a contract or through a hefty termination fee if the contract is broken early.