An unencumbered high-end handset at around $500 is cheaper than the same device at $199 with a contract. I wonder if someone will notice this and offer conventional financing packages like you can get for fridges and TVs.
T-mobile appears to be doing exactly that. You can get a contract with a subsidy, you can get financing on the phone and cheaper monthly service, or you can buy the phone outright and get cheaper monthly service.
I would hope, and hope is a strong word, that having multiple carriers (plus MVNOs) on the interchangeable LTE bands will encourage some competition that is sorely lacking due to incompatible frequency allocations.
Every spot in the US will be covered by 4 (5 is they ever find a buyer for the D block) licenses. In some locations, one carrier already has 2 of the licenses (e.g. VZW). I still see room for competitive behavior.
T-mobile appears to be doing exactly that. You can get a contract with a subsidy, you can get financing on the phone and cheaper monthly service, or you can buy the phone outright and get cheaper monthly service.