A little bit about locked phones. When you buy a cell phone (mobile) in the United States and several other countries, you are purchasing a piece of hardware (the phone) and software, and a relationship with a telecommunications provider. Typically, but not universally, the telecommunications provider will heavily subsidize the initial cost of the telephone in order to induce you to remain with or switch to them. After all, your 300 page phone bill can be for hundreds of dollars a month, so it’s natural for them to want you to stay. In fact, to cement this relationship, phone companies do two things. First, they make you sign a long-term (usually two-year) contract with substantial “early termination” of “liquidated damages” fees. For AT&T, this “fee” is at least $175.
This is a very articulate discussion of the "unlocked" iphone and ATT's Cease & Desist Letters...
