Justice Department Probes U.S. Wireless Carriers' Work on SIM Card Alternative
April 20 2018 - 6:28PM
Dow Jones News
By Drew FitzGerald and Brent Kendall
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether U.S.
wireless carriers and an industry trade group teamed up to make it
harder for cellphone subscribers to switch providers, according to
people familiar with the investigation.
The agency in February sent civil investigative demands to major
U.S. wireless carriers and the GSMA, an international standards
organization responsible for eSIM technology, the people said. The
eSIM standard lets wireless subscribers move their phone number to
a new carrier without having to remove a physical SIM card.
The department for more than a year has had its eye on the issue
of SIM cards and phone portability, with a focus on the two largest
carriers, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., though the
February subpoenas represent a new stage of the inquiry, the people
said.
A spokesman for London-based GSMA declined to comment. A Verizon
spokesman confirmed the wireless provider has been cooperating with
the department's probe for several months.
"The accusations regarding this issue are much ado about
nothing," Verizon spokesman Rich Young said. "The reality is that
we have a difference of opinion with a couple of phone-equipment
manufacturers regarding the development of eSIM standards. Nothing
more."
News of the recent probe was first reported by the New York
Times.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com and Brent
Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 20, 2018 18:13 ET (22:13 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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