Exactly one week after the FCC granted Verizon a waiver on phone unlocking requirements, the carrier changed its prepaid brand policy to require 365 days of paid service before unlocking phones. Previously, it was 60 days.

Let me spell out what just happened: Verizon asked the government for permission to lock phones longer. The government said yes. Verizon immediately locked phones six times longer. This is regulatory capture in real-time.

Phone unlocking matters because it's the only thing preventing carriers from turning smartphones into proprietary devices. When your phone is locked, you can't switch carriers without buying new hardware. You're trapped with your current provider even if their service is terrible, their prices increase, or a competitor offers a better deal.

The old Verizon policy - 60 days - was already longer than ideal, but it represented a compromise. Two months gave the carrier some protection against fraud while allowing customers reasonable freedom to leave. A full year is something else entirely.

This particularly hits prepaid customers, who are disproportionately low-income and can least afford to be locked into expensive plans or unable to switch when they find better deals. It's hard to see this as anything other than anti-competitive behavior enabled by friendly regulators.

The FCC waiver was supposedly about preventing phone theft and fraud. The argument was that quickly unlockable phones are more attractive to thieves because they can be resold internationally. There's some logic to that. But the solution isn't to lock paying customers into year-long commitments - it's better device security, better fraud detection, and actual consequences for stolen phone trafficking.

What makes this especially galling is the timing. Verizon didn't wait a few months to "study the impact" or "gather customer feedback." They got the waiver and immediately maximized how much they could lock down customer devices. This was the plan all along.

From a consumer protection standpoint, this is exactly why regulatory waivers need more scrutiny. The FCC granted this request presumably in good faith, thinking Verizon needed flexibility to combat fraud. Instead, Verizon used it to restrict consumer choice and reduce competition.

For customers currently on Verizon prepaid: your phone is now locked for a year. If you're considering switching to Verizon prepaid: understand that you're committing to a year before you can take that phone elsewhere, regardless of how good the service actually is.

The technology to unlock phones exists. Carriers choose to keep them locked. And regulators choose to let them.