An FCC Investigation: Just What Apple Wants?
Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:05AM 
Last week, news broke that Senator John Kerry and three colleagues have requested the FCC to look into the arrangements behind cell phone exclusives for certain carriers. Of course the highest profile exclusive right now is the iPhone being locked into AT&T in the United States.
Apple has an unknown, but assumed 2-5 years of exclusivity with AT&T (based upon a rumored 3-5 year initial agreement that may have been renewed.) At WWDC, some people made note of the fact that Apple remained largely silent, or at least said nothing positive about AT&T in their keynote. Could it be that things are not all sunshine and puppy dogs between the two companies?
A contract is a contract though, and without significant buyouts, or legal proceedings, Apple might be stuck with AT&T for some time. Unless of course, such arrangements were deemed illegal. If the FCC were to rule (and there's some debate about whether the FCC even has authority in this case) that these deals were bad for consumers, then Apple would be free.
It's hard to imagine Apple testifying in AT&T's defense if things get that far. Stay tuned...
