According to the Wall Street Journal, ATT, Verizon, Sprint and some others are under investigation by the Department of Justice. It seems the DOJ thinks they may be abusing their power on the cell phone market. How, you ask? One reason that comes to mind is the fact you can only get an i-phone from one carrier, and it cannot be used on any other carrier. 

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the entreprenour in me wants to commend a carrier for being proactive and inking a deal with a phone manufacturer that gives them exclusive access to a product. On the other hand, I have many friends who feel most of this technology should be open-source in order for anybody to make improvements to the software for these products, effectively accelerating the process of improvements. 

Regardless of which way you feel about this, I wouldn't look for an answer anytime soon. This investigation is just now beginning, and given the enormous size of these carriers, and the potential implications of monkeying with the American business model, this will be a long drawn-out investigation. Let me know your thoughts by posting here. 

 To Your Success, 

 Tim