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We dont have any subsidies in India .. but you should see the market penetration… people change mobile phones like crazy (because the market is flooded with newer models every month). The banks/credit cards provide no-apr installment plans ..

oh .. anyone could change anytime to another provider .. no lock-in ..

There is lot more to say about how mature the market there is. I was so used to it .. I find US way too restrictive and costly

Chris Davies: All well and good for you lot to say that, but it misses the separate and different histories of cell phone service in Europe and North America.

The first cell providers in Europe were the government-owned and operated telecommunications operations. Some were and some were not in the US, but cell service was never regulated here in NA as in Europe.

To say that one system is right and another wrong without taking that into account is wrong, I think. And delivering cell service is different to delivering landline service. Different enough that charging for the minutes used, whetehr sending or receiving, makes sense. (Or at least did make sense when cell service was neither ubiquitous nor cheap to provide.)

It’d be easy to say that given the trend over the last decade (in the US any way) for people to more commonly order cellular service first (as opposed to a landline), it might seem that it is time for a change. But I don’t think the paradigm has finished shifting yet, and I don’t think the cell companies in NA are ready for too much change.

VoIP services are only starting to be used on cell phones, and I think as they become more uable and popular, people will be buying PDA-Phones and SmartPhones withOUT voice plans because they will use VoIP on WiFi/WiMAX when possible, and over the cellular data plans otherwise. This will obviously obviate the need for the voice plan.

Google being involved with the latest round of wireless spectrum here in the US will be a good thing if it comes to pass, as I think they will force the cell providers to re-evaluate how they provide services, and how customers will sign up for it.

Whether it is an orderly change (which I doubt), or a chaotic one (I suspect it will be), I think the trends are going in the direction of VoIP over cellular data and/or WiFi, which will see the eventual shift from service with a physical end-point (landline), to service with a virtual end-point (cellular data or WiFi, or some combo of both).

Woadan

I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again: until you guys stop getting charged to *receive* calls and messages, it’s a travesty. Anybody I mention it to here in the UK is astonished.

I’m not saying we’ve got it perfect over here, but cellphone use is massive and part of that is the carriers recognising that they can’t milk cash out of absolutely everything (just most things, ha!)

Oh, and that StarTAC was my first ever cellphone. I still kinda miss it.

AT&T: I tend to agree with Patrick about the subsidy. Look at other countries with no subsidy on phones. Are consumers better off? There are many factors to consider.

Verizon: a “red” shareholder of Verizon had the same advertising problem in some European countries. Coincidense?

Will,
You should check out http://www.grandcentral.com . Best thing that has happened to people getting ahold of me.

Ram, Sprint has plans where your incoming calls are free. You may not like the plan’s structure, but it is available.

In addition to no 2-year contracts, I want to see all the features the maker puts in their phones stay in.

And let’s have those features work well. Give me a good camera, or take it out. Give me a good media player, or take it out. We either have good phones, but everything else sucks, or we have a media player that is good, but the phone sucks.

Woadan

Sorry KCT but I disagree with you on the iphone. Like my fellow fans have pointed out unsubsidized is only good if it is also unlocked or without long term contract.

do you think they would remove the cost for receive the phone call too (I mean .. not charge for airtime from me, when I receive calls ?). I am from India . .and I found this practice too upsetting

- Ram

Will’s right. The real news about this announcement from Sprint is that they are *also* going to start activating other networks phones.

It doesn’t seem like a bad move from here. If nobody else follows suite, people with unlocked phones will have more reasons to go with Sprint.

I’d be very surprised if there isn’t an iPhone subsidy. It is just going to Apple instead of the consumer.

Unlocked phones are the only way to go, and once more consumers realize the limits carriers impose n phones, the better for us all.

Patrick

let me have one number, and ring on both land and wireless phones.

Verizon’s phones haven’t been locked for as long as I can remember. The real issue is for carriers to start activating other carrier’s phones on their networks. Verizon has a policy they will only activate the ESNs that are tied to their branded phones.