Initial Activation Policy shows the carrier and activation state of an iPhone when first activated. It mainly indicates the original carrier and lock status. It doesn't reflect the current state.
Applied Activation Policy specifically refers to the original carrier an iPhone was locked to during its first activation. It's like a snapshot of the initial lock information stored in the device's activation cache.
Next Tether Policy shows the tethering permission for your next activation, based on your iPhone's original carrier (from "Applied Activation Policy") and unlock status. It doesn't reflect current tethering state or the current locked carrier.