WASHINGTON  – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, along with Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), all members of the Commerce Committee, today urged Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Michael Copps to review the exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone manufacturers. 

The senators’ letter precedes a Commerce Committee hearing this week on the issues facing wireless customers.  Currently, several commercial wireless carriers hold exclusive arrangements with handset manufactures with respect to which devices are available through their networks for consumers.  “We ask that you examine this issue carefully and act expeditiously should you find that exclusivity agreements unfairly restrict consumer choice or adversely impact competition in the commercial wireless marketplace,” the senators wrote.

Attached is the letter.

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