From a European perspective, that sounds really strange.
I've got mobile broadband in my laptop. Imagine if the provider of that service would have a say over what programs I could run on my laptop. Very strange.
It's a SLA, which typically don't come with laptops.
Video game consoles are similar - MS won't allow you access to the Xbox Live service if you've modded your hardware or installed different firmware.
Verizon doesn't care what you do with your phone, but they say that you can't get their cell phone service unless you run the device the way they want you to.
I've got mobile broadband in my laptop. Imagine if the provider of that service would have a say over what programs I could run on my laptop. Very strange.