Regional and rural mobile carriers in the U.S. are apparently supporting the recent push to legalize phone locking as they see it an opportunity to get Apple's iPhone on to their networks.

The small players are reportedly throwing their support behind several bills in Congress that would enable customers unlock mobile phones and tablet computers without carriers' permission, Bloomberg reports.

Follow us

"Smaller carriers have a very difficult time getting access to smartphones and handsets," Steven Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), was quoted as saying to Bloomberg. "The unlocking is one way the consumer can make the decision that I can try someone else who has better coverage in the area where I live or play."

CCA that represents carriers such as U.S. Cellular, T-Mobile, Cricket, Bluegrass Cellular and NTelos, wants the government to turn down a recent move by the Library of Congress which bans mobile owners from unlocking their devices without permission. The Congress decision is backed by major network carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T who advocates that customers should not be allowed to unlock their handsets without their carrier's approval.

As the report notes, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and Charles Grassley of Iowa, the panel's top Republican presented a bill on March 11 demanding an overturn of the earlier rule and wants to add tablet computers to the list of unlockable devices.

Smaller carriers believe that legalization of unlocking phones would open up a way for costumers to shift from larger wireless services to regional ones for better coverage. Large phone companies often gain exclusive rights to offer the hottest devices, leaving the smaller players with lesser devices. In addition, the current laws in the country prohibit altering software to let new phones from one carrier to work on other networks.

Legalizing unlocking will enable users to make their own decision about which wireless provider to use when they complete the terms of their contract. "They should not be forced to stay with their original provider due to software that restricts a phone to only one network," Leahy said.

Join Our Conversation

Smartphones

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 quad-core smartphone shows up in benchmarks

Leaked images highlight Nokia EOS aluminum body

HTC One will get Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update despite recent rumors

Oppo Find 7 may boast Snapdragon 800 processor, whopping 4000mAh battery

Tablet / Laptop / PC

AT&T Galaxy Note 8.0 LTE costs $399.99 on contract, $199.99 with smartphone bundles

Chromebooks land on Walmart, more retailers to get it soon

Apple's next iPad mini 7.9 inch Retina display will be Samsung-made

Next generation Google Nexus 7 could launch in July for $229

Gadgets

AMD moves from Intel's x86 platform to ARM for servers

OUYA team and E3 organizers battle over parking lot space

Sony PlayStation 4 to be available at $399 at the end of this year

Mad Catz to unveil M.O.J.O. Android game console at E3 to challenge Ouya

OS / Software

Windows Phone 8 GDR2 update reportedly coming in July

iOS 7 Beta comes with a bug that opens the lock screen to access photos [Video]

Microsoft recovers missing Lumia 920 with prototype Windows Phone Blue

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, Motorola X Phone reportedly launching in October

Internet / Social Media

What to expect from Facebook's June 20 event

WWDC 2013: OS X 10.9 Mavericks Safari is going to help you extend battery life

Samsung Galaxy S3 browser bug spikes data usage, slows loading times

Cisco appeals to European Commission to overturn Microsoft's 2011 acquisiton of Skype

What's App

Microsoft paying app developers up to $100,000 to bring content to Windows Phone 8

Windows 8.1 brings newly updated Xbox Music app

Instagram may add video on June 20 to challenge Twitter's Vine

Microsoft Office now available for iPhones, but there's a catch