Verizon Agrees to Shorten Exclusivity Period to Six Months

Today Verizon Wireless informed government agencies that it will shorten the period of time that it is the exclusive seller of certain handsets. Verizon said that it will restructure its agreement with handset makers, and will allow smaller, regional carriers with less than 500,000 customers the opportunity to sell handsets after an exclusive period of six months. Smaller carriers have petitioned the government to look into the exclusivity contracts, and say they give the large carriers a competitive advantage over smaller carriers. The federal government is currently reviewing the practice.