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A comment on Apple Built A SIM Card That Lets You Switch Between AT&T, Sprint, And T-Mobile. Parent comment

Re:Apple Built A SIM Card That Lets You Switch Between AT&T,... by jschwartzi on Thursday October 16, 2014 @08:04PM (#8468647)
T-Mobile does something basically equivalent, where they give you a line item on your bill for the device payment plus a line item for your subscription.

If this kind of card gets common I may have to buy one if I do any serious business travel again. It would be nice to never have to roam again, and instead simply make arrangements with a local carrier myself via the card.

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Re:Apple Built A SIM Card That Lets You Switch Between AT&T,... by pktgen on Thursday October 16, 2014 @11:19PM (#8469266)
This is kind of unclear, but are you saying T-Mobile's model is equivalent to the traditional carrier subsidy model? It really isn't, precisely because of the separation you mention - you can choose not to buy a new phone and you won't pay for it every month. With the traditional subsidy model, since the subsidy is included in the base price, you're paying for the subsidy whether or not you're using it.
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