Even Walser

U.S. Handset Subsidies to Be Replaced by Something Worse?

It is my belief that non GSM carriers Sprint and Verizon have the most to lose, along with Qualcomm, should handset subsidies and contract locking go the way of the dinosaur. My reasoning is simple. CDMA handset selection is pitiful compared to GSM. In an environment with infinite selection available it is unlikely that consumers will choose from the low-end CDMA universe. GSM offers much broader selections and feature sets all at a lower price due to enormous production economies of scale. If the iPhone has shown anything it is that handset matter as much if not more than pricing plans, now that cellular service has become virtually a utility across all carriers.

In this environment I would bet against Sprint, Verizon, Qualcomm and Motorola. The CDMA/GSM war is over and was lost to GSM. Nokia and assorted GSM manufactures will be the real winners along with GSM carriers, T-Mobile & AT&T, in any new contract free environment,.