AT&T is under review by Christine Varney of the Obama administration in an attempt to determine whether or not the popular smartphone’s exclusive deal with the mobile service provider is a violation of American antitrust law. Note that this is not a formal investigation, but Ms. Varney is spending her days at work checking out what the iPhone’s ties to AT&T have done to competition.
In my mind, this is the best news that has come out all day. The handset exclusivity deals in general, beyond just AT&T’s partnering with Apple, have always been trouble for consumers, and are only becoming more and more problematic. The iPhone is not considered to be a great phone, but a great pocket computer. It fulfills the phone functionality, but iPhone users get so much more functionality out of their purchases than a phone. With all smartphones, including the Palm Pre and all of those Android phones, the people who want them are choosing their carriers solely on the basis that the carrier has the device they want.
Beyond the anticompetitive nature of these deals, which give the carrier with the Holy Grail device de jour a competitive edge, it encourages some exteme laziness on the part of carriers. AT&T is infamous for its sporadic service, yet it rakes in the cash off the iPhone’s desirability. Hopefully a byproduct of the enforcement of antitrust law, or even just the threat of it, will get providers to realize that they really should be working to provide something. Hopefully Ms. Varney will reach some noteworthy decision faster than the FCC has.
(Original story via Silcon Valley Insider)
