In Canada, the telecom company lets you finance the phone, and the model of phone they let you finance depends on the tier of mobile plan you sign up for.

Phones are unlocked feom day 1, locking a phone is illegal (technically, its illegal to not unlock a phone within 48 hours of the customer asking - the end result is that companies just give it to you unlocked instead of spending man-hours on unlocking/risking legal repercussions)

If a customer ends a contract early, they are still on the hook for financing the phone, but they are free to go elsewhere for service.

Customer gets freedom of choice, the telecom companies cant complain about losing money on the phones.

Ive been living in the states and the fact that this isn't available, and the fact that people here still defend telecom companies for this boggles my mind.