I am genuinely interested in this, so I would appreciate your response. My assumption in the comment was that the phone provider keeps a log of device location information. It needs that information to cause your phone to ring. This is completely independent of any software on the device. Am I missing something?
You are right, this is what happens. However, with Librem 5, you can switch your modem off at any moment if you need privacy. Obviously, calling won't work when it's off, but you at least can balance your privacy with the availability for calls.
At the same time, the phrase "tracking is fundamental to mobile devices" does not tell the full story. Yes, it is fundamental for calling [0], but the parent comment said:
"most people don’t have any idea of how pervasive the tracking is and very few people would be ok with it if they did".
This is not (just) about the modem tracking, but also about the tracking built into the OS itself. There is no such thing in Librem 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHcHi0TBFv4.
[0] and tracking is not fundamental for IP-native communications, which is what Librem 5 is trying to make the default option.
Upd: "the phone provider keeps a log of device location information. It needs that information to cause your phone to ring"
This is also not true. The log is not necessary for the phone to work, only its current location.
