Comment They'd just have to copy T-Mobile's business model (Score 2) 77
The carriers now will say that they have to raise prices or even completely do away with contract subsidies in order to be competitive.
Then they'd have to compete with their MVNOs and T-Mobile USA, all of which have been itemizing the hardware and the service for years. Prepaid MVNOs have always sold the phone up front, and even before T-Mobile branded itself "the un-carrier", it had the SIM-only "Even More Plus" plan that offered a discount for bringing a compatible phone or buying one up front.