What surprises me most is not the level of control the carriers exercise, but the virtual lack of experimentation. Would a higher buy in, i.e. phone price, and a lower monthly fee produce more loyal customers? More Revenue? Less Revenue? Do they know one way or the other?

Will uncrippled Wi-Fi and bluetooth reduce revenue, raise profit, have no effect? What's the lifetime value of a customer who brings his own phone versus one who buys the subsidized phone?

Are any U.S. carriers testing the waters? And I mean real market tests, not focus groups or market research.

I'm especially curious to see what effect Apple's iPhone will have on the marketplace. If nothing else, it will be different.