Smaller wireless carriers will soon get a shot at selling the latest and best phones, at least where Verizon Wireless is involved.
The nation's largest cellular service provider will allow companies with 500,000 subscribers or less to sell phones that Verizon carries exclusively, but only after a six-month wait. Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam made the declaration in a letter to the U.S. Congress, CNet reports.
The letter is clearly a response to lawmakers' concerns over deals between cell phone makers and service providers. AT&T and Apple provide the most obvious example, with the iPhone locked in for an unknown period of time. It's been rumored that the companies' contract will end in 2010, but that's a long wait for people who don't live in an AT&T coverage area.
In the latest step from lawmakers, Sen. John Kerry and three other senators sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission. They sought an opinion on whether exclusive deals restrict consumer choice or otherwise hurt the marketplace. The FCC has agreed to investigate.
Compared to the total lockdown AT&T has on the iPhone, Verizon's change in exclusivity policy looks friendly toward smaller service providers, and it's smart business: In areas where Verizon is directly competing against these carriers, the company will have the edge when a hot new phone launches, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Meanwhile, it minimizes the impact on people who don't live in a Verizon coverage area.
If this isn't enough for lawmakers, they may attempt to eradicate handset exclusivity completely.
