The proposal is the latest in a series of rules to implement the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), originally issued May 2008.

FORBES: Good News For Travelers With Disabilities

The software that locks a smartphone to one carrier is covered by the act, and unlocking a phone is the process of freeing a device so that it can be used with a different wireless carrier.

CNN: Unlocking new smartphone becomes harder Saturday

Even airlines are getting in on the act, with Franco-Dutch carrier Air France-KLM currently in talks with Veolia Environnement's transport subsidiary over a possible joint venture in rail.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Even airlines are getting in on the act, with Franco-Dutch carrier Air France-KLM (other-otc: AFLYY - news - people ) currently in talks with Veolia Environnement (nyse: VE - news - people )'s transport subsidiary over a possible joint venture in rail.

FORBES: Rail To The Rescue

For more context and information on the technical aspects of the issue, you can review the NTIA's letter to the Library of Congress' Register of Copyrights (.pdf), voicing strong support for maintaining the previous exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for cell phone carrier unlocking.

ENGADGET: White House responds to petition: unlocking phones should be legalized

The Royal Navy's largest ship, the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, is now moored in the Thames off Greenwich, where it will act as a base for helicopter operations and house 400 troops providing security at the Greenwich Park Olympic venue.

CNN: UK faces security questions ahead of London Olympics

The Navy is developing N-UCAS as a stealthy, carrier-based unmanned aircraft that would allow Carrier Strike Groups to operate effectively from outside the envelope of enemy missile threats and could act as a prime hunter against missiles and their launchers before and after launch.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Where are the carriers?