Ubuntu touch not "marginalising" carriers.

At Melbourne mobile last night I participated in a Google Hangout with Ubuntu Phone product manager Richard Collins where he said some rather controversial things about Ubuntu Touch / Ubuntu Phone. Namely that it would succeed because it wouldn't "marginalise" the poor carriers out of customising their device and that access to the filesystem would be "up to the individual manufacturer". I'm curious to see if anyone has the same "what the hell" reaction I did to hear the Ubuntu brand and all it represents being pitched this way. Anyway, here's the link to the Google hangout - Interested to hear people's opinions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xcwK1sbQg - Noah