If you live in the United States, you may be familiar with the common sentiment that you generally cannot take your favorite cellular enabled device (tablet, smartphone, Sony PlayStation Vita, etc.) and use it on any carrier you like. With GSM carriers, this is referred to as a SIM lock. CDMA carriers didn't have to care about this because they didn't use SIM cards. Instead, the devices were programmed (flashed) to the network directly. Until now. This issue applies to both types of networks, now that deployment of LTE by CDMA carriers has introduced SIM cards as a staple for CDMA/LTE devices (except for Sprint, boo!).

Well, I'm here to shed some light on how a network lock works and why it isn't necessary. This statement will probably surprise you, as common wisdom indicated that device network locks are needed to ensure that you stayed with the carrier throughout your contract.

Just a reminder that we're always looking for regular readers who'd like to be paid to write stories you think the community would be interested in. Specifically, we're looking to pay users to craft content focused on broadband-related topics.

Just a reminder that we're always looking for regular readers who'd like to be paid to write stories you think the community would be interested in. Specifically, we're looking to pay users to craft content focused on broadband-related topics.

Everyone here at Broadband Reports wishes you and yours a happy, safe and healthy holiday season.

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Just a reminder that we're willing to pay for quality content from our community of users, so if you're interested in writing for the front page please drop me a line. Stories should of course be on topic for the website's area of focus (broadband and related emerging technologies), and we're willing to work with you to get your idea polished. We're specifically interested in any pricing/speed/TOS or cap changes you're seeing at your ISP. Recent examples of user contributions include iansltx 's exploration of new pricing and speed changes over at Grand Communications, and ryan711 's look at three of his favorite NAS options.

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For those who are wondering, Morning/Evening Links is taking a short break this week but will return bright-eyed and bushy-tailed next week for your linking enjoyment.

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