DOJ to Investigate Phone Exclusivity Deals

Seems those those “exclusivity agreements for popular handsets” have attracted the attention of the US Department of Justice. On the agency’s unofficial (so far) agenda? Whether or not these exclusivity are anti-competitive.

Palm Pre Under Sprint. Courtesy Sprint

Personally, I don’t really mind when a manufacturer and service provider agree to limit access to a particular phone. It’s just business after all, with the operator hoping to cash in on an eagerly-awaited gadget’s popularity, and the manufacturer enjoying a bigger share of the profits in return. It’s not anti-competitive when you’re trying to acquire any advantage to beat your competitors, more so when an exclusivity deal is strictly a B2B move.

What I do mind is an operator intentionally crippling a phone, apparently hoping its customers will pay for what should already be available to them. Anyone remember the RAZR from Verizon Wireless that had its Bluetooth disabled? The consensus regarding Nokia’s lackluster entry into the US is that the manufacturer doesn’t enjoy operator support because it refuses to cripple their phones for service providers. Another anecdote going around the tech journalism circles is that Palm took its sweet time integrating cellular and wireless connectivity into one device in an effort to remain operator-friendly.

And the specific deal that probably attracted the DOJ’s attention? Well, we all know how the newest iPhone still can’t do MMS and tethering—in the US. Such functionality is already available to European iPhone users, or to people who decided not to play the operator’s game.

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