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No, this is a completely different scenario. There’s a huge difference between the companies who provide the pipes having full control over everything (the way

by orev 2y ago

No, this is a completely different scenario. There’s a huge difference between the companies who provide the pipes having full control over everything (the way it was back then) and what we have today which is that some companies have become defacto standard platform providers. It’s the difference between having to pay a toll every time you leave your driveway vs. paying for things at whatever store you decided to drive to. Google and Apple happen to have devices that most people use, but if you want to you can buy USB adapters to use on a laptop, or some laptops have built-in mobile data. I think people making this type of comment like “there’s no difference now” just were not around back then and have really no context on just how completely locked down the wireless carriers had things back then.

lxgr 2y ago
> Google and Apple happen to have devices that most people use, but if you want to you can buy USB adapters to use on a laptop, or some laptops have built-in mobile data. But if you want a smartphone like most people these days, you’re out of luck. Things are almost infinitely better on the network side, and I don’t miss operators dictating when I get a firmware update or which app store I can use. But now Apple does that, and Google isn’t a really great alternative either for other reasons.
usr1106 2y ago
> how completely locked down the wireless carriers had things back then. That was (and probably still is to some degree?) the case in the US. Here in this country SIM-locked phones have been forbidden for more than 20 years. Phone subscriptions have limited competition because the were only 4, later 3 operators. And the most aggressive price challenging service providers get acquired by the bigger ones. But phones have fully free competition, you buy them from a domestic or international store, from your own operator, or from a competitor, just as you prefer.

by orev 2y ago

lxgr 2y ago

> Google and Apple happen to have devices that most people use, but if you want to you can buy USB adapters to use on a laptop, or some laptops have built-in mobile data. But if you want a smartphone like most people these days, you’re out of luck. Things are almost infinitely better on the network side, and I don’t miss operators dictating when I get a firmware update or which app store I can use. But now Apple does that, and Google isn’t a really great alternative either for other reasons.

usr1106 2y ago

> how completely locked down the wireless carriers had things back then. That was (and probably still is to some degree?) the case in the US. Here in this country SIM-locked phones have been forbidden for more than 20 years. Phone subscriptions have limited competition because the were only 4, later 3 operators. And the most aggressive price challenging service providers get acquired by the bigger ones. But phones have fully free competition, you buy them from a domestic or international store, from your own operator, or from a competitor, just as you prefer.