>And if we move to a model where consumers pay for the full price of the phone (which is what much of the world does today)
It's coming pretty fast. AT&T is pushing Next pretty hard, which is essentially an interest-free repayment plan spread over 20 or 26 months. If you go to buy a phone now, that installment price is listed first, rather than the contract prices. You still don't see the "real" retail price, but you sure do see that an iPhone is $25 a month and a Moto X is $15 a month. (The Moto X is the cheapest current gen phone they have, I think. Something like a Nexus 5 would be even less but isn't on Next.)
It's coming pretty fast. AT&T is pushing Next pretty hard, which is essentially an interest-free repayment plan spread over 20 or 26 months. If you go to buy a phone now, that installment price is listed first, rather than the contract prices. You still don't see the "real" retail price, but you sure do see that an iPhone is $25 a month and a Moto X is $15 a month. (The Moto X is the cheapest current gen phone they have, I think. Something like a Nexus 5 would be even less but isn't on Next.)