said by pnh102 :

...

The idea that government should mandate that the iPhone would work with Verizon or any carrier other than AT&T is ridiculous. Impose enough regulations and we won't even have a cell phone industry anymore.

said by SD6 :

Theoretically, competition should make the cellular industry self-correcting. But this isn't happening - operating profits have been at about 30% for several years now. New companies cannot enter the market because spectrum is a finite resource and the existing cellular companies use it all (or own it and don't use it). The problem to be corrected is that, much like Microsoft did with their Windows monopoly, they are leveraging their monopoly over the finite spectrum supply into other markets where there is not a finite supply - into the device manufacturing market (you get a better deal if you buy a branded, locked, subsidized and crippled phone from the carrier), into the services and content market (buy your ringtones and video from them), and into software development (your software has to work with the carrier's devices).

The cellular companies have been able to extend their market power into and distort these other markets. The answer is not socialism, or extensive regulation of cellular service per se, but the return of the free market system to these other markets.

said by TechieZero :

Spoken like an eloquent socialist.

Government has NO BUSINESS in the affairs of how the industry charges for its services. If company ABC nickels and dimes you then company YYZ comes around and does not do that...guess where the people will flock to? This in turn makes all of the companies adjust to be competitive --- this is known as the free market system.

Consumers also never *lost* any money. They made a conscious choice to agree to pay for the services they asked for. The spectrum was bought and paid for by these companies --- not simply granted. The Feds are involved for the obvious reason of not letting people step all over each other and making the spectrum useless. That is about all they should do. No more.

said by nasadude :

if the carriers weren't allowed to have closed systems, or if competition were sufficient to prevent it from happening, nobody would have to "make" the iphone work with Verizon - it would be designed to work with any carrier. In fact, I thought it already was, but it gets locked by ATT so it won't.

said by pnh102 :

...

Making iPhones work with Verizon is not one of those responsibilities.

said by nasadude :

so in your opinion, the government has never done anything good and never will?

said by nasadude :

The problem here isn't "the government", it's those idiots, fools and sycophants that are running it. Government has been competent in the past and will be again (someday), when it is run by competent people.

said by pnh102 :

...I agree here, but who allowed these mergers, in both industries? It was the government. This proves that government is part of the problem here and that more intervention by the government will make things worse.

said by SD6 :

Sorry, but you are wrong about this. In the US, an uncrippled phone generally costs about 50% more than it does in many other countries (where all phones are uncrippled).

said by SD6 :

And the availability and variety in the US is greatly diminished.

said by SD6 :

The phones no longer just get the subsidy lock; they are becoming locked in such a way that it requires a hack and it is technically illegal to unlock them.

said by SD6 :

The terms of service are restrictive, apply regardless of the device you use, and there is no way around it. Certainly, not by paying full price for a phone.

said by SD6 :

The real point is the economics of the market where consumers are losing billions of dollars on service using federally granted wireless spectrum, not the technicalities of whether you CAN do an end around the various barriers to competition.

said by SD6 :

The large cellular companies are vertical systems with operating profits of about 30%+. It prima facie is NOT a competitive market, rivaled only by some of the oil companies.

said by SD6 :

It prima facie is NOT a competitive market, rivaled only by some of the oil companies.

said by pnh102 :

Most of the problems highlighted can be worked around with no need for government bungling:

You don't want a crippled phone? Do some research and buy one that isn't crippled. I know that for T-Mobile and AT&T there is nothing stopping you from taking a SIM from your existing phone and putting into a new phone that you buy yourself.

You don't like nickel and dime billing? Get a pre-paid phone.

You don't like restrictive user agreements or contracts? Pay the full price for your phone and you won't have to deal with one.

You don't like how a GSM-based phone is locked to a particular provider? You can pay someone to unlock it for you.