This week the US Department of Justice (DOJ) kicked off a formal investigation into the practice of handset makers signing exclusive deals with service providers.

In case you've forgotten, this is the practice Apple uses for pretty much all of its iPhone sales worldwide. Now, the DOJ is looking into whether this practice is in violation of US antitrust laws.

If the DOJ does rule that the exclusive deals are illegal, the iPhone and other exclusive handsets could be offered by other carriers. Unless you just signed a two-year deal, this is pretty good news.

Of course such a ruling would only impact US consumers, but it's a safe bet that similar efforts could be launched in other countries, particularly the EU.

10 Jul 2009