The government of Japan has moved forward with a review of their current "SIM Lock" system. The way it is set-up now, only a SIM card from the three top mobile providers in Japan can work in their respective devices. Because of this, Japanese people traveling overseas (such as to the US) cannot fit a SIM card of local carriers (AT&T/T-Mobile) inside their Japanese handsets and must instead use the international services of their Japanese carriers, or buy a new phone that will work specifically with the overseas carrier. A spokesperson from NTT DoCoMo said there needs to be "careful discussions" and that "We provide unique service features other than voice calls. They are possible because of unique handsets. Abolishing SIM lock could limit the types of services we provide". However, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, the communications minister of Japan, feels differently as he has questioned the need for the SIM Lock restriction and will be holding a meeting this Friday to hear from businesses and consumers regarding the issue.
Sam Earley, is a former reviews and news writer at PhoneArena. His incredibly productive run included numerous reviews and comparison articles of breakthrough products, such as the Motorola DROID X, Verizon Pre 2, HTC Thunderbolt and many others.
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