US Senators prod FCC to review mobile phone exclusivity

Written on 6/16/2009 06:00:00 PM by poison_ivy

AT&T has their iPhone, Verizon has their Voyager, T-Mobile has their Sidekick, and recently Spring has their Palm Pre, so how do rural wireless providers in the US compete with that? By lobbying with US Senators for the FCC to review mobile phone exlusivity deals. US Senators John Kerry, Byron Dorgan, Amy Klobuchar, and Roger Wicker, signed a letter to the FCC and part of the letter reads:

We ask that you examine this issue carefully and act expeditiously should you
find that exclusivity agreements unfairly restrict consumer choice or adversely
impact competition in the commercial wireless marketplace

The Senators also asked the FCC if mobile phone exlusive deals are prevalent, if it manipulates competitive marketplace between wireless carriers, and if it plays a role in discouraging innovation. Hmm, definitely not the latter since the release of the iPhone paved the way for more advanced handsets but maybe yes on the second issue.

The Senators would hold a hearing Wednesday and determine if legislation is necessary. Oh, the EU should definitely get in on the action and do something similar. I know I want to see an unbranded HTC Magic on the market.

Via:
MobileBurn