The US Justice Deparment’s Antitrust Division has been rumoured to be reviewing exclusive carrier-manufacturer deals, such as AT&T’s arrangement with Apple Inc for exclusive iPhone sales in the US.
A report in the Wall Street Journal said that while the whole review is still in early stages and has not cited any company or service provider specifically, it is looking strongly at whether such tie-ups are “unduly restricting” services third-party companies can offer.
Among the areas the Justice Department could explore is whether wireless carriers are hurting smaller competitors by locking up popular phones through exclusive agreements with handset makers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The news would obviously be a boon to a lot of iPhone users who continually gripe about AT&T’s horrible 3G coverage. Back home, the possibility of an iPhone on Tata Indicom’s cheaper unlimited tariffs brings a smile to our face – not that the US Antitrust Division’s verdict has ever affected Indians, but one can always hope.
Meanwhile, Reuters contacted AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel, who said he was not aware of any such formal probe, adding that exclusive agreements spur competition and development of new features.
Hmmm… isn’t that what Microsoft used to say a while back?
Sources: WSJ, Reuters