Edit: judging by the downvotes people seem unaware that phones are unlocked once their monthly plan is paid. I'm perplexed as to how you think it's okay for you to get a phone for like 8 bucks and then move to a different carrier without paying the rest.
Or, maybe, give a discount contractually bound to staying with the operator for a fixed amount of time instead of locking the phone forever?
It may sound outrageous but what about providing quality service so that customers willingly stay with the operator instead of keeping them hostages?
You can! Nothing stopping you from buying, say, the latest iPhone at retail price without the postpaid subsidies.
The law also requires that carriers unlock any locked phones after the postpaid contract period is up (if customer actually paid it off): https://www.fcc.gov/general/cell-phone-unlocking
If you're suggesting that we restrict rights to optionally buy/sell subsidized phones and pay them off over a 12-month period, I can't get behind that. Let the people choose which financial model they want. No need to restrict postpaid programs just because people don't like the idea of locking during payback periods.
It does not sound ridiculous, because unlocked phones have been available for purchase at full price for over a decade in the US, and longer in most other countries.
No one has been forced to enter into a contract with a mobile network that stipulates their phone be locked to the network for a long, long time.
Except that is actually what is happening in reality. So yeaaahhh...
The take the price of the phone, divide it into 12, add that to your monthly bill until you pay it off, and unlock it when you are done with the payments.
But even in asking that it kind of highlights that their money probably comes from locking people into their network rather than selling hardware...
EDIT: T-Mobile is also probably the perfect example because their network coverage sucks in comparison to Verizon -- at least where I have lived. They probably lock their phones because nobody would use their network (again, at least where I live).
They can pay for the phones up front like almost everywhere else in the world, or they can pay for it in instalments like buying a freezer or car. What has network service got to do with the price of the phone itself?
It's literally a monthly payment plan for a phone, and they lock it until you pay it in full.
I see nothing bad about this at all. It's not like in the past where they lock your phone forever - with T-Mobile as soon as you fully pay for it they unlock it.