The subsidy is recovered over the term of the contract. What does carrier unlocking has to do with it? Even if I unlock my subsidized phone outside of official methods, I still have to fulfill my end of the contract.
The carrier might not be able to charge a large enough early-termination fee on the contract to fully reimburse them for the cost of an expensive phone.
Then they should charge an ETF that will allow them to recoup their costs and not trump up some imaginary "copyright violation" boogeyman that stops me from using my phone as I see fit.
