The U.S. cell phone market: she’s a-changing! (For the better)

StartacI’ve been out of pocket all day, running around trying to help a friend make a one-way, limited-speed cable modem a little more usable and shareable. Since we had very limited success (meaning we mostly failed), I had plenty of time to note some very positive changes in the U.S. cellular market over the past few months:

  • Apple’s iPhone was unsubsidized by AT&T. Yes, it’s nice to have cheaper phones, but ultimately less subsidies will bring greater choice and possibly no early termination fees for consumers.
  • Verizon Wireless was appropriately hand-slapped for advertising "unlimited" data plans only to terminate over 13,000 data plan subscribers for effectively going over the unadvertised limit. Truth in advertising is a must, especially when there are 24-month commitments involved.
  • Sprint just announced that they’ll be unlocking phones for use on competing networks. This might be a first for the SIM-free CDMA network and sets a good precedent for Verizon Wireless and Alltel.
  • As data networks quickly expand, we’re seeing more and more high-speed modem options available. I remember not too long ago when I got my first EV-DO modem that you could choose any modem form factor you wanted… as long as you wanted a PCMCIA card. We still have PC Cards, but there are plenty of ExpressCard, USB and embedded options available not to mention cellular routers. I predict that 2008 will be a huge year for 3G data and not just for business types.

What am I missing here? Aside from they typical two years of cellular servitude I’d like to see disappear from all cellular purchases, what else could be happening to make things better for the consumer?

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