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T-Mobile, AT&T oppose unlocking rule, claim locked phones are good for users

(arstechnica.com)
197 points LorenDB | 2 comments | 21 Oct 24 20:31 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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Spivak ◴[21 Oct 24 20:53 UTC] No.41908420[source]▶
T-Mobile's filing is shorter than the article: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/1017178290200/1

> T-Mobile estimates that its prepaid customers, for example, would see subsidies reduced by 40% to 70% for both its lower and higher-end devices, such as the Moto G, Samsung A15, and iPhone 12.

This is such a confusing line, you're in control of that. Also if that were true this would be great for you. Don't you want to be making more money? But in practice can you not just enforce this by contract? You must make a 12 month commitment to T-Mobile to qualify for discounted phones.

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cwyers ◴[21 Oct 24 21:01 UTC] No.41908485[source]▶
In the pre-paid market niche, you have people who really struggle to put together the money for an iPhone 12 all in one go, and T-Mobile has essentially worked to create a razors/blade model with some obfuscation. It's possible that disaggregating phone plans from installment pricing would benefit consumers in the long run, but let's not act like everybody would be prepared to transition to that world immediately. (I don't think T-Mobile is exactly concerned for their customers, but this subsidy regime exists for a reason.)
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hnuser123456 ◴[21 Oct 24 21:07 UTC] No.41908538[source]▶
I buy prepaid specifically so that I can own my own unlocked phone and be able to do what I want with it without thinking about the carrier. Price isn't the issue, ownership is.
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1. mikeocool ◴[21 Oct 24 21:22 UTC] No.41908642[source]▶
I am betting you are a fairly unique prepaid customer.
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2. toast0 ◴[21 Oct 24 21:32 UTC] No.41908734[source]▶
There's hundreds of us! I pay $15/month (+tax) for my service which has more than enough for my use most of the time. I don't get all the cross-promotional stuff, and I don't get a phone subsidy, but I think the lowest advertised price for all that stuff us $40/month. Saving $300/year gives me plenty of phone allowance, and I can buy my own tacos or whatever.

I don't have to pay for 'activation' when I move the sim from my phone into a new phone either, even though I hear about that happening still.

I don't have to try to get all my family lines on the same carrier either, so if the three of us are in a car stuck on the side of the road, we have a better chance of one of our phones working to get assistance.