In the US, subsidizing phones was a scheme that locked customers into expensive "buy out" scenarios where large, incumbent carriers could act like cartels. Cus

In the US, subsidizing phones was a scheme that locked customers into expensive "buy out" scenarios where large, incumbent carriers could act like cartels. Customers could get a "$1000" phone for effectively free on contract (the discount contingent on completing the 2 or 3 year contract, but with an option to "upgrade" the phone and renew the contract every year). To exit the plan, the "discount" was revoked, and the remaining value of the phone, which was often 80% of its MSRP, had to be paid off in full. These phones were also required to be "carrier locked" (unable to be moved to another network, of which there are many in the US), installed with a carrier firmware that limited features, forced to run carrier apps and software, and were often stuck on the major OS version they were purchased with. Even high-end phones became effectively useless before their functional lives ended. I think the EU didn't put up with this, but the US only much more relatively recently established similar rights and protections for cellular customers.