Japan’s largest mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, announced plans to start selling unlocked phones beginning April 2011. What that means is that you will be able to use DoCoMo handsets with other networks by simply switching SIM cards.
DoCoMo is the first major carrier in the Land of the rising Sun to take this route, although their decision comes after the Japanese government has asked the industry for more openness. We’re guessing other operators, including KDDI and SoftBank, will follow shortly.
In the U.S. most handsets sold through T-Mobile and AT&T are locked to those specific networks. Sprint and Verizon claim to be more open, though their handsets lack SIM cards.
In Europe, it’s a common practice to have your phone unlocked after the contract ends (in case you both a phone with some plan).
I like DoCoMo’s move and I’m hoping that it opens doors for an entrance of those cool Japanese mobile phones in the other parts of the world. 😉
[Via: PhoneScoop]