Congress Looking at Cell Phone Exclusivity Arrangements
When I first saw this headline, I thought to myself, “It’s high time someone looked into these arrangements!” But the truth is it’s these types of arrangements that inspire change and advancement in technology. It’s a love/hate relationship. This exclusive arrangement is what enticed at&t to give Apple what they needed to re-invent the cell phone.
The fact of the matter is, without an exclusive arrangement between Apple and at&t, we would almost certainly not have the iPhone that we have today. If Apple would have been blocked from making such an arrangement, at&t would have never let Apple have the type of control needed in order to produce the jesus-phone.
I can go ahead and cry that I’m stuck with at&t for 2 years, but truth be told, I’ve had nothing but good service with my iPhone itself. I knew coming in that I would not have MMS, but that is coming around the corner. I knew coming in that I would have to pay a little bit more than equivalent data plans, yet I still chose to get an iPhone. I think requiring a new 2-year contract for my son, so that he could use my original, unsubsidized iPhone is a pure stupidity. At&t blames Apple for this because of the way the iPhone is activated.
So yes, exclusivity arrangements are evil, and I’ll be the first one to jump ship to another carrier once I can, but I do understand why it was necessary to have this type of arrangement.