> Well, I don't doubt this is true, and this is maybe a poor example of
> the effect. But, the real point is, the reason there is a market for
> "throw away" phones at all, outside of say.. drug dealers, is that some
> people can't afford $50 a month for to use *all* of the phones features.
> But, if you go to certain other countries, many of them ironically "less
> developed", you pay one flat fee, and a much smaller one, instead of
> tacking on everything separately.

You don't think maybe, because your population density is what, 10x 
lower than places like Japan or Korea that it actually costs more, per 
subscriber, to run the system in the US? And you haven't factored in how 
much governments subsidise the industry (either directly or indirectly 
in terms of tax rates), nor what the typical pay rates are in those 
countries.

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