Official solution for unlocking for an old iPhone 3GS

Question

Last summer, I purchased an iPhone 3GS together with a 2-year contract with Swisscom, one of the mobile telephone operators in Switzerland. A few weeks ago, my phone was stolen while I was on a trip. I contacted Swisscom and informed them that the phone had been stolen. They deactivated the old SIM card, and sent me a replacement SIM card. I reported the theft to the police too. My understanding is that the IMEI number of my old iPhone will be added to a blacklist so that it cannot be used on any mobile telephone networks anymore.
My father, who lives in Texas, recently upgraded from an iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 4. He extended his original contract with AT&T and simply moved his number over to the new phone. Because he no longer had a need for his old iPhone 3GS, he agreed to send it to me. At my suggestion, he went first to the Apple Store in Austin and requested that they unlock the phone. The folks at the Apple Store informed him that they could not unlock it. They suggested that Apple or the mobile carrier in Switzerland could unlock the phone.
My father shipped his old iPhone 3GS to me, and I received it yesterday. This morning, I went to the Apple Store in Zürich and asked if they could unlock the phone so that I could use it with my Swisscom SIM card—the one Swisscom sent me to replace the one in my stolen iPhone. They told me that they could not do this, and that only the original carrier, AT&T could unlock the phone.
What is the official solution for unlocking an old iPhone 3GS?
I have posted this question to the AT&T discussion forum also.
http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/Apple/Official-solution-for-unlocking-for-an-o ld-iPhone-3GS/td-p/1998765

Answer 1

wjosten wrote:
Does Apple have a recommendation?
Read my post. There is nothing that Apple can do for you. The decision as to whether to unlock your phone or not rests entirely with AT&T, & they will not do so under any circumstances.
I read your post, and appreciate your having taken the time to write it. However, I would like to get an official reply from someone at Apple.
Apple is a company that prides itself on its commitment to the highest standards of environmental stewardship.
http://www.apple.com/environment/
Apple’s partner AT&T is also committed to being a good corporate citizen and protecting the natural environment.
http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=8506
Re-using old products to extend their useable lifetimes is one of the most effective ways of reducing the impact we have on the environment. When my phone was stolen, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to put this philosophy into action, using my dad’s old phone to use instead of just throwing it away, or leaving it on a shelf to be discarded later.
I think it would be a shame if there were no officially sanctioned way to put an old device to good use.