Verizon wants this to come to an end, and has petitioned the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to allow it to set its own locking policy, and not be bound by the 60 days it's currently tied to.

Verizon is asking regulators to let them keep your phone locked for six months instead of 60 days. The move could make it much more expensive to switch to cheaper carriers.

If approved, the change would align Verizon with AT&T’s policy and further tighten restrictions compared to competitors like T-Mobile, which already enforces a 12-month lock on prepaid devices.

To fight the fraudsters, Dunne said, Verizon is crossing their fingers super hard that they be allowed to add a 60-day carrier lock (SIM card lock-down to Verizon) on every phone they sell.

Verizon believes major demand for its new encryption service will come from governmental agencies conveying sensitive but unclassified information over the phone, says Tim Petsky, a senior product ...