Digital Divide in Wireless?
May 21, 2008
It's been almost a year since Apple introduced the iPhone and, while some of us have been waiting for additional features like the ability to access Web sites that use Flash (hint hint), there are others in rural communities who are still waiting for the opportunity just to buy an iPhone.
Ars Technica reports that, because of Apple's exclusive five-year agreement with AT&T, consumers in over a dozen states where service isn't available in rural areas haven't been able to become iPhone customers. And, according to the Rural Cellular Association (RCA), such exclusivity agreements between wireless carriers and handset manufacturers harm the rural telcos it represents -- and their customers who aren't able to buy many of the latest cellphone devices. Not just the iPhone but other popular models like LG's Voyager that is only sold through Verizon Wireless and Samsung's Ace that is offered exclusively by Sprint Nextel.
RCA outlined its grievances yesterday in a petition to the Federal Communications Commission, asking the Commission to investigate and, as necessary, to prohibit exclusivity agreements. The group characterized such deals as anticompetitive and said they create "yet another 'digital divide' between urban and rural America." You can download a PDF of the group's petition here.
What do you think?
Is not having access to certain cellphone models a 'digital divide' issue, or a matter of lifestyle (meaning that people who live in urban communities will have access to different types of products and services than their counterparts in rural America)?
Tags:
Apple, ATT, Cell Phone, digital divide, FCC, iPhone, Rural Cellular Association, Sprint, Verizon, wireless
