I believe that is the intent. At least that is how I interpreted it from here and what Kyle has said elsewhere (Matrix).
Well, thereās a certain corporate anonymity with that kind of registration, no?
Maybe to evaluate the L5 while simultaneously keeping your current phone as your daily driver while you evaluate the L5? If you donāt want that, then it may be fair to say that itās just not for you.
I wonder if I would then get a bunch of calls offering to increase Purismās credit scoreā¦
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Can those be activated in store?
If so, what information beyond name and address is required?
If not, what information is required over landline or web?
In particular, is a credit card number required?
Which carriersā networks does the service use?
Nevermind I got it, T-Mobile or AT&T.
Is it possible for the SIM to use either network or is a SIM tied to one or the other?
@Kyle_Rankin do people currently residing in the EU space have any benefits to purchasing this service NOW ?
At the moment the service would only work in the US, but EU residents could benefit if they travel to the US frequently and want unlimited data while within the US, I suppose.
I donāt know. I was so excited that I just rushed home to try it out.
The kit (about $30) came with 3 SIMs, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. I tried Verizon (my wife has really good signal strength and coverage on her phone), but the PinePhone didnāt like it. I loathe AT&T, so I was quite gratified when the Pine[/quote]Phone popped 4 bars when powered up with the T-Mobile SIM.
AFAICT, it was practically anonymous. No name, credit card or email. I believe I had a choice of activation over the web (which I had difficulty with) or by phone call, automated or with a RLP. It was after hours, so I did the automated call. Other than using the landline phone keypad to key in long numbers (some sort of SIM ID and IMEI) it was pretty easy. They will always know what tower it is connected to, but I could have activated it via a pay phone or a burner to increase privacy. 
The SIM was good for 30 days and could have been extended via airtime cards purchased at the store (presumably still anonymous). When my 30 days expired, I opted for a less expensive monthly prepaid plan with auto-pay from my debit card, no contract.
I expect that this SIM would work in the L5 (Iāll definitely try it when my Evergreen arrives), but like I said before, Iād pay for the AweSIM instead, if it came with Librem One. 
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at which point is the AweSIM service officially on-the-clock (when is it activated?)
from reading the article i understand that when you order the Librem 5 WITH the AweSIM service in a bundle it comes pre-inserted in the L5 out-of-the-box so this would mean that after first boot when the user chooses to enable the cellular-kill-switch it would get activated and the meter starts running.
would it be correct to assume that one could postpone this activation process indefinitely if the cellular-kill-switch is in the OFF position or if āAweSIMā is manually pulled out by the user BEFORE accessing the cellular-network ?
also ā¦ just call it AWESOME already ā¦ you know you want to 
no one has really thought out how anonymous this is. to me this idea is ultimately STOOPID. if youāre a target of interest this will not prevent you from being tracked. if you do something to become a target of interest this will not prevent you from being tracked. when youāre connected and online in any method you can be tracked. they can figure out very easily who owns the phone or is using the device just by usage patterns, even coupled with vpn service if TPTB want to find out who is on a device they will. when you give the appearance of having something to hide that makes you an even greater target. if you donāt want to become a target donāt do stupid shit online, youāre not going to be able to hide unless youāre actually in the government using their channels. thatās just one aspect; i pay $235 for 5 devices for unlimited talk, text and data so thereās no way in hell this would ever be appealing. this is obviously an attempt, grasping at straws, to keep the ship afloat.
Admsjas, respectfully disagree.
I donāt think itās magic, and I donāt think itās for me, but I do think it provides a convenience that will be appealing to some and it shifts a degree of trust.
The shift of trust is from the cellular ISP whom is selling your information to Purism whom claims not to, and it would almost certainly end their business if they did. With this the cellular company no longer has your billing information, that is shifted to purism.
The cellular company could, still figure out whom you are from tracking the phone location, but that doesnāt give them your billing information still.
The cellular company can still see everyone whom you make calls to/from, all internet traffic (though encrypted data is still encrypted), and now Purism will have access to that information as well. In theory it could be argued that this is potentially an increase in exposure as now thereās another piece to the chain, but I donāt think this is likely to be that significant in most scenarios.
The big convenience this provides is out of the box functionality. There is also the claimed customer support convenience, though that one could go either way; currently the only support from purism Iām aware of is via email and that would be a step down in my opinion from being able to get phone and in person support from the ISP. The privacy spin doesnāt read as Purism saying itās perfect, just better than dealing with the ISP directly; which I personally do agree with, I just donāt personally put the same value on that as Purism.
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another aspect is having to give up your number which for self employed people will not work. iām not giving up a number that is established or taking a new number in which i have no capability to transfer. there are many reasons why this is a bad idea. like you stated once people start texting and calling their contacts they used with any other service the connections can very easily be made whoās phone it really is, adding a layer of obscurity ie billing here is really pointless
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Youāre right in that this wonāt be the best solution for some people, but Iām sure there are others whom will find this greatly beneficial.
I genuinely donāt believe this to be a beg for money, but rather a relatively easy service to offer with a slight, but not egregious, premium price.
i pay for my SIM (pre-pay) 5E for a 30 day use period ā¦ obviously itās not unlimited (quite the contrary ~1000 minutes/voice/month for all networks nationally and in the network unlimited) 5GB/data/month and some handy sms in there for trivial talk ā¦ it serves me plenty for my needs currently ā¦
in comparison 99 bucks is huge but thatās really apples to oranges since life in the US of A is SO expensive ā¦ the best part is that i donāt get ANY adds or unwanted calls and the reception is always good even inside (but thatās probably just my bb-q10 still kicking ass even though itās been a while since the OS support was dropped)
PLUS with the way events are unfolding in the US, this move doesnāt surprise me at ALL ā¦ 
That really depends, a big difference between countries, $99 SIM or 0.55 costs a liter of gasoline for driving a big pick-up truck all month
Very interesting!! Thank you! Iām in Italy so, please, let me know if and when. Just Iād like to have this service cheaper if itās possible.
Thank you
Electronics and cellular service are more expensive in Bolivia than in the US, but everything not imported is much cheaper.
I canāt believe what food costs in Europe. Clothes, electronics, appliances, etc. cost more in Europe as well, so you have to balance that against the insane health care costs and expensive telecom services in the US, and the fact that you have to own a car to get most places in the US.
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Some of us use our cell phone for minimalist reasons, like emergencies, leaving the heavy data loads for the home computer. That comes out to a gross Canadian $22.09 including taxes and the rest, per month with one of the most expensive Canadian providers. Comparing that to the US $99 is obviously a no go for me. Will Purism be giving a discount comparable to what I am paying now for us minimalist users in the future?
The funny thing is, now purism is going to get any billing generated robocalls!