[LINK] the Apple iPhone rort

[Kim Davies]

Quoting David Goldstein on Tuesday July 10, 2007:
| 
| To have an iPhone one must agree to a contract with AT&T, previously described as one of the worst mobile phone service providers in the US. So if you want an iPhone, and you are already contracted to another company, you have to terminate that contract with the related fees that involves. Ben Scott?s article also notes ?if you are on a family plan, you may have to pay a separate fee to terminate all of your family's phones.? And there?s the point that that AT&T doesn?t offer full coverage in more than a dozen states.

To set the record straight, speaking as someone who bought an iPhone
last week once the hysteria died down. I did not have to sign a contract
with AT&T. I am using a month-to-month AT&T plan with it, but I can
cancel service at any time with no exit penalty.

It strikes me that if you don't have wireless coverage with a particular
carrier where you are based then it would make no sense signing up for
mobile service with them. But you'll be pleased to know that the two US
GSM networks have inter-carrier roaming agreements so in areas where
you may not be covered by your carrier, you roam to another available
network for no extra cost.

As to AT&T coverage, it seems pretty comprehensive to me in terms of
population: http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/ (compare and
contrast with the alternative: http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/)

| Now, the real point the article makes I?d not thought of, is that the ?practice of tying users to one provider is unique to the wireless world. Cable TV providers can't tell you what kind of TV to buy. And regular phone service will work on any phone you can find at your favorite electronics store. In the latter case, that's because there is a longstanding set of laws that guarantee consumer choice.?

No, but on the other hand a CDMA phone wont work on a GSM network, and
your Cable TV receiver won't work with a Satellite dish. True portability of
devices between carrier choices is more difficult in the US as there are
no industry wide standards for cellular etc.

| ?This kind of ?blocking and locking? behavior doesn't stop you from accessing the internet, but it does shape your experience and undermine the open, level playing field that consumers have come to expect online. The iPhone is simply the highest-profile example of a wireless internet market that is drifting further and further away from the free and open internet we've all come to expect.

I don't see why the iPhone is any different the SIM-locking done on any
other phone, and in other countries -- not just the US. I am not saying
it is a desirable practice for the consumer, but it is hardly unique to
the iPhone.

kim