Rooting a phone and unlocking it are two totally different activities. Unlocking involves opening up a phone for use with different carriers. This process is extremely useful for cellphones in the US where, cellphones are launched on carries, not as standalone units.
If done professionally, unlocking can be done by paying up amounts ranging from $30 to #50 based on the type and reliability of service you are going for. One important factor to watch out for while unlocking a phone is to take care that it is not SIM-locked by a wrong process.
Unlocking a phone needs no rooting at all. Unlocking involves HEX editing and there are different specifications for different networks. A cellphone launched on a particular network carries its dedicates features but that may not be the features on offer with another network. In such a case, the phone is prone to losing its mojo.
You can see this thread on the XDA forum but too many attempts may freeze your phone. So be careful and good luck.
(Image via: gadgetsdna)
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