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Is this actually accurate or did I find a bug?
If not, such a weird 5 minute window
Car dealership owners are one of the most reliable Republican constituencies. They make outrageous amounts of money through government-mandated rent-seeking and donate to Republican candidates 6-to-1. What we see here is nothing more than a quid-pro-quo, a handout to the dealership owners in exchange for their loyal monetary support over the years.
So yes, it's not about protecting the consumer. Dealerships are of course actually terrible, as everyone knows. This is about protecting the dealership owners.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/rich-republicans...
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/637/?Tab=VoteHist...
I think the biggest thing missing through pre-paid is the ability to finance devices through the carrier (if this is something you do). Additionally, something like the iphone upgrade program isn't supported if you are on a prepaid plan either. Also, if you ever travel internationally the pricing is absurd ($35/WEEK extra for 5GB of data).
That said, I get the feeling AT&T isn't thrilled about people that opt for their prepaid plans. Porting my number over required me to wait for hours on hold, their support is horrendous if you ever need to get in touch with them for something, and you have to manage your account through an entirely different website that frankly looks like one giant phishing attempt.