--- description: Could herald more user freedom (and more manufacturer influence) title: Carrier-Free SIM Cards: Netherlands First Country to Legalize image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108bee8017bcb4f8/6986864c35ba6f2db4c01104/479482595.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Netherlands Becomes the First Country to Legalize Carrier-Free SIM Cards by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:47 AM CUT  Brent Lewin—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:47 AM CUT In great [news](http://www.cnet.com.au/the-netherlands-legalises-carrier-free-sim-cards-339346886.htm "undefined") for those sick of fiddling with their cellphone handsets on every trip abroad, the Netherlands has become the first country to legalize carrier-free SIM cards. Instead of adding to your pile of miniscule circuit cards, or locking your device to one network, this could herald the true freedom for users to switch between operators at will. Manufacturers are already vying for it, since it would mean customers wouldn’t have to enter agreements with specific providers to connect their devices, and in the long-run could cut out the middle man for voice and data services. It may still be a while until we get there, though. Legal restrictions already quashed an initiative by Apple to create its own carrier-free SIM card in 2010. \[[CNET](http://www.cnet.com.au/the-netherlands-legalises-carrier-free-sim-cards-339346886.htm "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/31518/netherlands-first-country-to-legalize-carrier-free-sim-cards/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/31518/netherlands-first-country-to-legalize-carrier-free-sim-cards/"},"headline":"The Netherlands Becomes the First Country to Legalize Carrier-Free SIM Cards","datePublished":"2014-03-20T09:47:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:46.832Z","description":"Could herald more user freedom (and more manufacturer influence)","url":"https://time.com/31518/netherlands-first-country-to-legalize-carrier-free-sim-cards/","keywords":["Tech","Netherlands","cell phones"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108bee8017bcb4f8/6986864c35ba6f2db4c01104/479482595.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt108bee8017bcb4f8/6986864c35ba6f2db4c01104/479482595.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"479482595","caption":"","creditText":"Brent Lewin—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/31518/netherlands-first-country-to-legalize-carrier-free-sim-cards/","name":"The Netherlands Becomes the First Country to Legalize Carrier-Free SIM Cards"}}]}] ```