[quote=briansd1]BG, even if you share a family plan with a friend, your line is still eligible for a subsidy.
You can get a subsidized device, sell it at a profit on eBay, and still buy another unlocked phone of your choice.
The only thing the contract does is prevent you from canceling the line without a cancellation penalty.
The services required (such as data plan for a smart phone) are device dependent, not contract dependent.[/quote]
Yes, this is true if I selected a phone which did not require a data plan. However, these phones aren’t even as good as the 5-year old one I’m using and usually do not accept third-party memory chips (my phone is also my i-pod). You are correct in that I could sell a brand new phone I received for free from the carrier (after signing a contract) on e-bay or craigslist. But it would not likely be a feature phone that the typical buyer would want. It would just be a bare-bones phone, locked to AT&T unless I also paid to flash it first. Not sure how marketable that would be or if it would be worth signing a contract for.
The act of tethering my number to another customer’s bill does not require me to sign a contract unless I accept a new handset. I can leave that person’s bill at any time and re-open my own account.
