Here’s an idea: How about zero days?
I admittedly don’t get how this is even a thing, having bought unlocked phones for prepaid service going on 14 years now. Wait for a sale on a phone, get a high-end device for like $800 (financing always available), and pay $200 once a year for service.
It’s appalling to me that people think more than $17/month for cell service is reasonable.
$800-$1000 up front is a whole lot of money for a lot of people. Also, where did you find a phone plan for $200 year? Asking for a friend…
5GB/month Mint Mobile plan. Eight years in, and it started as 2GB. I buy my music, so I don’t stream. Most data use is background stuff with apps.
Carriers can sell phones in bulk so often they’ll be able to negotiate a discount.
With Android phones, they can also fill them to the brim with adware and branding. You can avoid that trash by not buying through your carrier, but that crap does help reduce the price of the phone.
I bought my phone with my plan, but paid off the entire thing in one payment. Saved me like 100 euros, and it didn’t even come with any carrier adware.
Some people use phone plans to buy phones they can’t afford. They’ll be unable to come up with the 1000 bucks you need for a modern flagship but still want a shiny new iPhone. That’s how you get several years of monthly payments and a locked phone.
As for zero days: I doubt carriers can move that quickly without making mistakes. Two months may be a bit long, but some margin so the customer has time to reboot when they’re able to and make the unlock stick makes a lot of sense. I don’t think I’d enjoy a random remote reboot on the day I fulfilled my payment plan, I’d rather be given a few days so it doesn’t reboot while I happen to be out of range or whatever.
Are you getting a discount when you buy a carrier phone on contract? Every time I’ve priced them out, the total for 24 months of payments is typically around the full MSRP of the phone. Buying direct usually results in hefty discounts since companies like Samsung always have some sort of deal going on. My parents recently got some bottom of the barrel smartphones and still wound up paying hundreds of dollars for them on contract even though you can buy them outright online for 1/3 of the price.
Nobody would put up with buying a car that only runs off gas from ExxonMobil, even with a discount. Nobody would buy a laptop that can only get an internet connection through Comcast. That so many people put up with locked phones are OK with this practice shows a lack of comparative analysis.
I’ve talked to plenty of people that lease a car and a gas card that only works on certain gas stations. If there’s a discount, people will flock to that stuff. The only reason we don’t do this with cars is because the car companies can’t get it done.
Hell, this does exist for cars: American Tesla’s only do fast charge at Tesla superchargers. The worst part is that Tesla is the only party that can build a reasonably reliable charging network, so now other brands are allowed to charge at Tesla’s excellent service.
There’s a cultural component to it (“I’ve always bought phones from carriers, why wouldn’t I?”) but discounts do work. It’s why ad-supported phones and tablets are a thing. People will gladly get a shittier service for a discount.
I’m of that particular age where my memories start just after AT&T was broken up into Baby Bells (to the extent that I thought “Ma Bell” was a weird shortening of Mountain Bell). So I know we’ve been here before.
Tesla’s not a great example, given that their connector is now a standard. Yes, it’ll take year for other charging networks to get built out, but that’s a temporary situation that’s a tech question. Cell service is not.
A couple of years ago, Canada required all carriers to cell unlocked phones, or allow them to be unlocked for free. Nothing bad has happened because of that. Our cell phone plans are still too expensive, and the companies are wildly profitable.
What! Freedom for the masses! SCOTUS assemble!!!
I’m actually pretty curious to see how the FCC moves forward after Chevron, and I’m hoping Rosenworcel wipes the floor with them
Why can’t we do it right now?
Phew, from the title it wasn’t clear what “unlock” meant. I thought they were trying to force carriers to backdoor everyone’s phones and make the conents of any phone available upon request by law enforcement in a timely manner.
