On Monday, senators implored the chairman of the FCC, Michael Copps, to take a closer look at exclusivity contracts between wireless carriers and phone manufacturers. The senators are concerned about the effect those contracts have on competition and innovation in the market place.
“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,” said the letter, which was signed by former presidential candidate John Kerry, among others. I’d say it’s highly improbable that our good senators are concerned about anything other than the AT&T/Apple relationship. Several news sources have cited the LG/Verizon relationship where the Voyager is concerned, but that hardly seems as volatile to the market.
It’s fairly clear that exclusivity, at least in the case of the iPhone, limits consumer choice in a big way. Plenty of people don’t want to be on AT&T, but Apple has said several times that Verizon’s network won’t perform at standards required for millions of iPhones. As far as competition goes, it’s probably safe to say that the iPhone has discouraged innovation and encouraged emulation. The Palm Pre may be the sole example of a phone that took the touchscreen concept and improved on it, allowing multitasking, gesture controls, and adding a physical keyboard.
The senators agreed to meet Wednesday to discuss their concerns and determine whether legislative action was necessary. As of yet, there’s no word from Washington.
As good as their word, Apple released OS 3.0 for the iPhone today. You’ll need to have iTunes 8.2 installed for the update, which is free for iPhone owners, $10 for the iPod Touch.
