But for now you can still rip the modem and antenna, like what I am forced to do with my car.

Then the TV will just display a generic error telling you to get it serviced and refuse to work.

If apple can’t get free data for their cellular devices theres no hope for vizio et al.

The data required to exfiltrate the telemetry and serve ads is vastly smaller than that used by the average iPhone.

What about the data for a 4g watch?

Amazon set a precedent with Kindle 3G keyboard edition many years ago; it had free worldwide cellular access for buying books and had an experimental web browser good enough for webmail. I never thought it was free from the carriers, I assume the bill went to Amazon.

If Vizio can’t arrange that alone, they could pool together many manufacturers and devices, offer the phone companies a copy of the data, or wait until the cost drops low enough.

My understanding is Amazon paid an enormous amount for that!