Unless you want to buy an unlocked phone, etc. etc.

Why would you want to do that?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World

Give the provider the phone's public key fingerprint.

You're letting yourself be constrained by the very brokenness people are saying should be fixed.

Well in that case you have to have it tied with your name, so it will only work for contracts; and only about half of the people here are on contracts.

Works for pay as you go as well