AT&T, iPhone Suit Advances To Class Action

Lawsuits charging Apple and AT&T of violating antitrust regulations have been consolidated and a federal judge has approved a class action lawsuit against the two firms, charging them with monopoly abuse.

The exclusivity issue -- already simmering for several months in different government venues -- focuses on the exclusive iPhone locking arrangement between Apple and AT&T. In the latest development, federal judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California last week ruled that earlier litigation against the firms can be consolidated.

The lawsuit against AT&T and Apple maintains that a secret deal was made between the two firms to establish the exclusive arrangement for five years.

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission said it would investigate exclusive contracts between handset providers and carriers. Also weighing in on the issue last year was Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis, who urged officials at the Justice Department and the FCC to examine the exclusive deals between carriers and cell phone makers.

The initial suits were filed in 2007 shortly after the first iPhones went on sale. An amended complaint charging the "locking" of the iPhone was filed in June 2008, according to media reports. The litigation charges also that iPhone subscribers could be locked into a five-year relationship with AT&T. Apple markets its iPhone through AT&T in an exclusive relationship with the carrier.

There have been reports that Verizon Wireless will have an iPhone model to market in a few months, but neither Verizon nor Apple have confirmed the reports.

Apple and AT&T have denied the charges outlined in the lawsuits.