Unlocked iPhones

Recently, an article was published on Wired about unlocked iPhones. You can read it here: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mods/news/2007/09/unlocked_iphones

In the service agreement to buy an iPhone, there doesn't seem to be anything against reverse-engineering the phone, using the phone with other networks, or reselling the phone to other people. The hackers don't seem to be doing anything wrong (although I wouldn't consider my observations as authoritative: I have misinterpreted legal documents before). If the hackers cancel service between fourteen and thirty days after getting it, they do not have to pay the early termination fee and they have to keep the phone. Only the initial cost is more for an unlocked iPhone. The hackers will charge enough to recover the costs of the activation fees for AT&T and the cost of buying the phone plus any additional profit they make in auctioning the unlocked iPhone on eBay. If you want an unlocked iPhone, not only do you have to buy an unlocked phone (if you are unwilling to unlock it yourself), you have to pay the activation fees along with any other fees associated with connecting to a different network with an existing phone. Is the cost difference between a normal iPhone and an unlocked iPhone worth the marginal benefit of a "better" phone company?