[shawnomega]

I ran across this and thought it might have some effect on the iPhone. Because if verizon is willing to do it what's to say the FCC won't pressure att thoughts?


Verizon Wireless (VZ) said in a letter to lawmakers today that it is willing to limit new exclusive handset distribution deals to six months to allow smaller carriers to sell the same phones, Reuters and others report.
Verizon said 24 small wireless carriers had asked the company to eliminate its long-term exclusive handset agreements with LG and Samsung.
�Effective immediately for small wireless carriers (those with 500,000 customers or less), any new exclusivity arrangement we enter with handset makers will last no longer than six months � for all manufacturers and all devices,� the letter said.
The letter went to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Rockefeller, as well as a handful of other Senate and House members.
Last month, a group of Senators asked the FCC to look into exclusive distribution deals between carriers and handset makers; the Justice Department subsequently began in informal probe that is looking into the issue.
Verizon�s move doesn�t actually address the larger issue, which is the lock-in of certain popular handsets with the large carriers - the Apple iPhone and AT&T,* the Palm Pre and Sprint, the BlackBerry Storm with Verizon - that prevent them from being sold by the other large wireless telcos. In fact, the most valuable exclusive is likely the Apple/AT&T deal, in which the most obvious agrieved party is not a bunch of smaller wireless players, but Verizon Wireless itself.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mdude85]

Yeah I don't think this is related to the iPhone/ATT issue. 500,000 customers is exceedingly small and I don't think there will even be a huge incentive for companies like LG, Samsung, Apple etc to spend time marketing their flagship phones (the ones that would benefit from exclusivity) to these carriers if there is not a big chance for a high return on investment.

It does set an interesting precedent, but the Att/Verizon war is a different animal. Verizon has exclusivity with a number of phones it does not feel like giving up, and so does ATT, so I think we'll be in that battle for a while yet.

Maybe Verizon is setting the legal groundwork for proposing that ATT release its exclusivity on certain phones in the next few years.

[scorpiodsu]

VZW wants the iPhone now. I know they do as well as Sprint and TMO. It will more customers and create more competition which is better for all of us. I want everyone to have then they'll have to compete when it comes to data prices/services and stuff. Right now AT&T has us because they have no one to compete with. I'm not going to TMO to unlock a iphone and use on their slow network. No phone should be exclusive!

[BerryStorm]

I agree with the Thread Starter as VZW is being clever by 'falling on their own sword' knowing it backs the Death Star into a tough corner regarding the iPhone as I thought the exact same thing, when I initially read another article earlier this morning. I believe this will be the impetutus that drives the iPhone to VZW, which I know Apple would love as they would immediately double whatever hardware revenue they have from the devices, but more importantly drive iPhone Application sales. I wouldn't even be surprised if VZW didn't 'sick the dogs' on themself with this issue to force AT&T's hand!!

Verizon has been sharp on the legal front over recent years from the landline to the wireless side, so don't be too surprised if the iPhone is not being sold by Big Red sometime soon!!!

[zhelf]

yea this could be a smart move by vzw but it does not really mean apple will go for it. apple has never really been about making their products fully available for purchase by all up until recently you could not find a single mac at a best buy but they have started to cave.

plus apple might still be resentful towards vzw for turning them down since they originally approached vzw before going to ATT. but thats just my opinion.

i think there will be alot of negotiation before the iphone goes to vzw since vzw is all about cramming every device full of their apps and embedding them into the phones. and the apple clearly doesn't want anyone's apps but theirs on the phone from the factory. so it will be interesting to see how this goes down.

i personally don't care if the iphone is available to all or one as long as it stays offered by ATT since their coverage is amazing in my area and i would hate to have to switch lol since i left vzw to come to ATT.

[armedtank]

This is a token move by VZW IMO since this issue has made it all the way to Congress.

A hot new handset can sell 500K in a few weeks on VZW, a small carrier with less than 500K customers will only sell a fraction of that amount over the life of the device since not every customer is going to upgrade.

As far as the iPhone, Apple is a hardware company, every move they make is to increase hardware sales, they would love to get with VZW and I think it will happen sooner than later, what I also think is that it might not be the iPhone that we know. How long do you think it will be before Apple comes out with a new handset? I speculate that AT&T will keep the iPhone since they will pay anything to keep it as an exclusive and we will see a new phone from Apple for VZW.

I am hoping for an iPhone on steriods made specifically for "the network"

[Entertainment72]

Here we go again..

[Duvi]

I don't care who has the phone, as long as that means better rates and plans for us consumers.

I don't get this rule though... how can you force a company to make a device for another carrier? Lol. "Hey you must make an iPhone for T-mobile!" Yeah right.

[tmotytn]

Like someone already pointed out earlier, with the way VZW cripples/bloats their devices, what kind of control would Apple have to relinquish, and would they relinquish any? Doesn't history show us that they won't?

An iphone on VZW would not be nearly the device it is on ATT. And Sprint/Tmo couldn't support the device very well at all. FlexPay iPhone Plan, anyone?

[avt123]

Competition would be great, but unless Verizon makes an exception for Apple, I don't think Apple would follow along with this.

Verizon to its smartphones: thou shalt have no other app store before mine

[lolstorm148]

The whole 'exclusivity' investigation will never make it out of the house. John Kerry is simply trying to make himself relevant again, but at the end of the day you can't force companies to build products for people they don't want to do business with. We live in a capitalistic society and this type of forced business practice doesn't work. It is the exact same thing as saying 'XBOX 360 games should work in a Nintendo Wii', or the keys to my 'Honda' should work in a 'BMW'; waaah it's not fair. I hope Verizon never gets an iPhone =) Cause we all know the minute they do, they'll strip it down, under-clock the processor, lower the memory configuration and stuff it with their craptastic proprietary software.

[zhelf]

I don't care who has the phone, as long as that means better rates and plans for us consumers.

I don't get this rule though... how can you force a company to make a device for another carrier? Lol. "Hey you must make an iPhone for T-mobile!" Yeah right.

that was kind of my point vzw thinks this will allow them to get the iphone but if apple does not want to they do not have to there are quite a few phones that do not have exclusive contracts but are not offered on more than one network.


and apple is rather notorious for being exclusive.

[jmlampert23]

i dont understand what the big deal it. if you want an iphone go to AT&T if you want a black berry storm go to verizon. it is that simple.

apple wont sell the iphone to verizon because they want to have their own OS on the phone which in my opinion will totally kill the phone. the verizon OS sucks ***

[boomhower1820]

I could care less about the iphone, no multitasking no interest, but I would like a Bold on Sprint....

[noaim]

Whether I use a iPhone or not I think exclusivity should end all together...

I want carriers to fight over there prices instead of the hot new handset...

Id rather pay a lump sum for a handset then be forced to go to a specific carrier to get such handset...

no contracts no exclusivity.

[zhelf]

Whether I use a iPhone or not I think exclusivity should end all together...

I want carriers to fight over there prices instead of the hot new handset...

Id rather pay a lump sum for a handset then be forced to go to a specific carrier to get such handset...

no contracts no exclusivity.

that is presuming a device maker would want to port their device to other carriers. its not always a matter of an exclusive contract some device makers don't feel their device will do good enough on another carrier plus it also allows them to offer different models with more or less feather for the same price on the different networks for those not going to switch.

so while we all want every device unlocked and unbranded and be able to go to whatever carrier we want the manufacturers most likely would not go for this.

[mlfgc]

no one cares unless theres a high demand for the phone... this won't effect anything much... I think verizon is just trying to take precautions of being another "victim of the trust act lol

[mdude85]

that is presuming a device maker would want to port their device to other carriers. its not always a matter of an exclusive contract some device makers don't feel their device will do good enough on another carrier plus it also allows them to offer different models with more or less feather for the same price on the different networks for those not going to switch.

so while we all want every device unlocked and unbranded and be able to go to whatever carrier we want the manufacturers most likely would not go for this.

Certainly this is the case with Apple. There is a lot standing in the way between Apple and Verizon even if you take ATT out of the mix. At the very least, Verizon does not like Wifi, and Verizon does not like the idea of an App Store which is installed on the phone before it is sold. This is Apple's bread and butter. And Apple does not like CDMA, so Verizon would probably not get much attention from Apple until it perfects its LTE network. So Verizon would basically need a paradigm shift in order for the iPhone as it exists today to become a realistic feature on the Verizon network. And Verizon is already selling a TON of Blackberries, Samsung Omnias, LG Dares, etc etc. It's still more popular than ATT even if it does not have an iPhone.

[zhelf]

Certainly this is the case with Apple. There is a lot standing in the way between Apple and Verizon even if you take ATT out of the mix. At the very least, Verizon does not like Wifi, and Verizon does not like the idea of an App Store which is installed on the phone before it is sold. This is Apple's bread and butter. And Apple does not like CDMA, so Verizon would probably not get much attention from Apple until it perfects its LTE network. So Verizon would basically need a paradigm shift in order for the iPhone as it exists today to become a realistic feature on the Verizon network. And Verizon is already selling a TON of Blackberries, Samsung Omnias, LG Dares, etc etc. It's still more popular than ATT even if it does not have an iPhone.

yea i agree apple would never allow verizon to ship iphones with their apps preinstalled but vzw would not allow that.