I think you're confusing 2 issues here: 1) unlocking the phone 2) killing the contract with AT&T Until now to "unlock your phone", you had to kill your contr

I think you're confusing 2 issues here: 1) unlocking the phone 2) killing the contract with AT&T Until now to "unlock your phone", you had to kill your contract with AT&T, and then move over to T-Mobile. But now you'll be able to unlock the phone for free - while maintaining the contract with AT&T - and still be able to use T-mobile. So you'll be paying both contracts (if for some reason you want to use both - like say you have family on AT&T's network, etc). This is very common in Europe. People use 2 networks on the same phone all the time, by switching the SIMs. And I think in Asia, too, because in both these regions dual-SIM phones are on the rise.