Senators Will Probe Carrier-Phone Exclusivity Deals

Four members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation are expressing concern about exclusive deals between the nation’s dominant wireless carriers and handset makers. On Monday they asked acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps to review the practice.

Currently, several wireless carriers hold exclusive arrangements with handset manufacturers to offer devices through their networks, noted Sens. John Kerry such as AT&T’s U.S. monopoly on sales of Apple’s iPhone and Sprint’s lock on the new Palm Pre — end up harming consumers and impeding marketplace competition.

“We hope that the commission will recognize the increasing use of these restrictive agreements and act expeditiously to benefit consumers and promote competition among wireless competitors,” the RCA said.

In its latest FCC filing, the RCA noted that a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision affirmed the commission’s right to prohibit exclusivity deals in the cable-TV industry that restrict the provision of service in multiple dwelling units and other private real-estate developments.

“The D.C. circuit endorsed the commission’s finding that exclusivity agreements between cable companies and apartment owners ‘would likely raise prices, limit access to certain programming, and delay deployment of fiber-optic and broadband technologies,’” the RCA said.

Now the RCA wants the FCC to apply the approach to regulating the wireless industry. The appeals-court decision “lends support to the commission for similar action that could be taken to ban exclusive…

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