Lawsuit alleges locked iPhones constitute a monopoly

Does restricting a phone to a single carrier constitute a monopoly by the two companies involved? According to an AP article yesterday multiple lawsuits have been filed that claim Apple and AT&T are engaged in monopolistic behavior. Nobody can deny the furor that erupted on the internet after the last update that disabled so many iPhones and Apple had to expect more than just bad PR. We will have to wait and see how this lawsuit pans out, but if the plaintiffs succeed it will have implications that stretch far beyond the iPhone.

Exciting news for those of us who want an iPhone but don't want or are unable to use AT&T.

From the article

"Complaints over Apple Inc.'s use restrictions and recent software update for the iPhone have erupted in two lawsuits alleging Apple and its carrier partner, AT&T Inc., engaged in illegal monopolistic behavior .... [b]y not allowing consumers to modify their iPhones to work on other carrier networks.

...

It is unclear how many iPhones were disabled or how many iPhone owners have modified their handsets.

Some hacker communities estimated that thousands of people have downloaded their "unlocking" programs, while AT&T's Siegel says the company has heard from "very few" customers that have done so.

The federal lawsuit stated it didn't know how large the affected class could be but pegged the number at 100 or more and anticipates "there will be millions.""