113 cell phones are lost every minute in the U.S. The reason: the black market for smartphones is thriving because wireless companies refuse to use existing technology to disable stolen phones for good. If perpetrators knew that phones would be rendered useless as soon as they steal them, it removes the incentive.
The wireless industry claims it is working hard “to develop a technical solution that will render a stolen cell phone useless.” In reality, the solution is already out there and in place in the UK and Australia. When a cell phone is reported stolen, companies use the the phone’s unique identifier to disable it so it cannot be used again.
Since wireless carriers refuse to do their part, direct the FCC to force wireless carriers to permanently disable stolen phones.