ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

In Vermont and other states where AT&T coverage is spotty or nonexistent, owning and using an iPhone is an act of defiance. Winooski badass John Canning is a case in point.

Currently, AT&T is the only carrier to support the iPhone. But a provision in AT&T's mobile phone contract states that users like Canning can't spend more than 40 percent of their monthly minutes on non-AT&T networks. And because Vermont, barely populated and tucked into a cold nook below Canada, is not well covered by AT&T, iPhone users in the Green Mountain state rack up roaming charges when they iPhone out of network.

Canning, president of PCC, a small business that develops software for pediatricians, told the Burlington Free Press that he's confident he's adhering to his contract terms.

The paper quotes AT&T Wireless spokesman Mark Siegel, "who points to another contract clause, which says users must live in a community that receives direct service. The company has canceled the contracts of 'a very small percentage' of its 63.7 million subscribers, Siegel said, declining to provide figures. People who live in places where AT&T offers no service, such as Vermont, should not buy an iPhone, he said. 'Just by doing that you're violating the terms of the agreement,' Siegel said. 'We will spot that very quickly and most likely would terminate that person's service. I'm sure these are really nice folks, but I don't know what else to tell you."

Somebody at AT&T is not thinking straight. Surely there's a way to charge these "really nice folks" for the service they want. What's the matter, grumpuses? Afraid they're going to rack up more 300-page phone bills?

If that's the reason, I don't get it. Because charging for out-of-network service looks pretty lucrative to me.

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