Re: @ anonymous coward 'gullible people like me'...
The name is Bond...................................James Bond (since you insist).
The point is, just because the Big boys quote RRP, that doesnt mean it is! Apple will quote £900 for a fondleslab, but that does not mean it is! Get that?
Talktalk & BT call their STB worth £299. But the whole world and his dog know it isnt.
Take the Google Nexus 4 16GB as an example. Max it costs is £239 or £279 (Retail). Equivalent to sitting between SGS3 and SGS4 interms of quality, performance benchmarks. Add your monthly £8 or £11 allowances and then do the math. SO just because your phone is/was quoted as £600, which you believed to be true, was subsidized when you got it as part of the contract? Maybe you fell for the spin.
And thats the point I am making. Gullible idiots will buy the seller's spin and argument all day long.
Comparing it to ADSL is another cop out in your argument. Its not relevant. (Apples vs Oranges - we are talking Mobile and not fixed lines). Unless you desire to please & justify yourself by this substitution alternative costs. Some light relief it might provide to make it a basis for your arguments.
But where is the subsidy? Maybe OED will highlight the true meaning of subsidy, if look closely.
THERE IS NO SUBSIDY, just spin to make you part with more of your cash. Subsidy would mean, they sell you the handset at around £200 ish - which would be at cost (slightly below cost) to the carriers (maybe spread over 24 months - interest free) and then give you £11 deals to cover usage.
Now thats subsidy.