The roaming agreement with Verizon is not a selling point to the average consumer. For example, try using a Sprint phone in NYC in the Port Authority building, no coverage.
Use my Verizon blackberry, 4 full bars. When does roaming kick in?
The average consumer will not force roaming and the Sprint phone wih the slightest coverage from Sprint will not switch over...
Needless to say, on a highway, that would be even less likely.
Pricing phones that consumers want are key to their recovery, however, with 16 billion in debt, I can understand their issues on subsidizing.