FCC will be launching an all out investigation whether exclusive cell phone deals, such as the one that locks the iPhone to AT&T, are good for consumers.

While the exclusive deals work for both parties very well – The manufacturer & the carrier provider but this exclusive deal doesn’t work for a whole lot of folks.  I do not want to move to AT&T just to get the iPhone because i have had bad experiences in the past with at&t – It should be frankly open with which carrier you want to get a cell phone with, We all can agree deals such as AT&T & Apple deal over the iPhone – Indirectly say to the consumer  ”Hey! you don’t like us? Well You better”

There has been an out cry about this matter over the past few years, ever since iPhone was released.

There has been online efforts to bring this issue on the fore front, it looks like those efforts and public out cry had finally provoked the FCC to look into this matter. Lets see what FCC can do for general Public.

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Regulators will investigate whether exclusive cell phone deals, such as the one that locks the iPhone to AT&T, are good for consumers.

The acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Copps, has instructed the commission’s staff to review exclusivity arrangements.

“In the fast-changing wireless handset market … we must ensure that consumers are able to reap the benefits that a robust and innovative competitive marketplace can bestow,” Copps said Thursday at an industry conference in Washington.

Carriers generally negotiate exclusive deals that last six months to a year, after which other carriers can also sell the phone model to their customers. By launching with only one carrier, the manufacturer gets a higher price or extra promotional spending on the phone.

Apple Inc.’s iPhone is a much-noted exception. Dallas-based AT&T Inc. has been the sole U.S. carrier since Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple launched the first model two years ago, frustrating consumers who want to use it on another carrier.

Handset exclusivity was one of the subjects of a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing this week.

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