Will the new Verizon phone lock policy hurt Enterprise Mobility?

Recently, Verizon announced that, in an effort to combat theft, phones will now be locked to the carrier.

Will the new Verizon phone lock policy hurt Enterprise Mobility? In the short-term, no... long-term will be a different story.

According to CNET, Verizon will be rolling this out in phases. Phase one will have the phone unlock right away during activation - which is understandable, this confirms a legit purchase. Phase two, beginning in the spring, "will begin the practice of keeping the phone locked for a period of time after the purchase." The latter type of lock is standard business practice in the wireless industry.

If you do not swap sims in your enterprise devices, you will be unaffected.

As soon as the nation's largest wireless carrier defines "locked for a period of time" you will need to keep in mind any users that you are supporting with future international travel where a sim-swap is needed.

I imagine that Verizon will be lax with B2B customers... any updates will be posted here.