It also expands consumer choice, if only incrementally.
For example, the US carrier T-Mobile has a whole lot of customers with iPhones despite not offering it themselves. That's possible because consumers are able to pick up a used GSM iPhone and stick their SIM card into it.
That isn't really happening for US Cellular, because Verizon and Sprint's (SIMless) handsets can't readily be made to connect to talk to their network.
For example, the US carrier T-Mobile has a whole lot of customers with iPhones despite not offering it themselves. That's possible because consumers are able to pick up a used GSM iPhone and stick their SIM card into it.
That isn't really happening for US Cellular, because Verizon and Sprint's (SIMless) handsets can't readily be made to connect to talk to their network.