The software is different, but it is still proprietary. So the answer to your
question, sadly, is yes. Everything that runs on the phone's radio (the part
that interacts with the cellular network and provides your 3G/4G connectivity
and is essentially an entire second computer in your phone with its own
operating system that you never see on the screen) is proprietary.
Some of the u are even mandatory. I'm not sure what would happen if people
refused.
But it's worse than that: A common design shares the phone's main memory with
the operating system you see on the screen and the one you don't. This design
also gives it access to the microphone and GPS as well. And, cell phone
carriers have the ability to remotely update this firmware. Read the contract
with your carrier, buried in the fine print is probably something along the
lines of: "Please be aware that we may change your wireless device's
software, applications or programming remotely, without notice." What control
does this give carriers? The power to push updated versions to your phone's
radio - without your knowledge - that contain surveillance features to
activate the microphone and report your location and to access main system
memory and everything in it. You take this with you everywhere you go. Your
carrier may say they'd never do this but policies can be easily changed,
while the infrastructure for doing such stuff will persist for many years.
