It seems that it boils down once again to the network.
Consumers have had to put up with phone/network couplings for too long. What can realistically be done to break this (or any monopoly), aside from moving to Europe?
Exactly. This is how it is in India too. You can cancel your phone connection anytime, even during the middle of the month, no penalties. These contracts in US are a pain.
In europe, there are mobile telephone services providers who don't operate their own network. In a sense, they are resellers for the network operators. This allows them to innovate in areas where the network operators don't do this, without big up-front investments in creating your own network.
Consumers have had to put up with phone/network couplings for too long. What can realistically be done to break this (or any monopoly), aside from moving to Europe?