Carriers' exclusivity deals create digital divide, senators told

— -- Paul Roth, head of retail sales for AT&T — the only big carrier that testified — made the case that exclusive arrangements help spur innovation, noting that there are now more than 30 smartphones competing with the iPhone. Those sorts of competitive responses help keep prices in check and also give consumers plenty of choices, he argued.

In short, these arrangements "are really good for consumers," Roth told the Senate Commerce Committee.

People in rural areas are particularly hard hit, Rooney told the committee.

Owing to exclusive deals, he says, a wireless "digital divide" — between people who have access to top devices and those who don't — is starting to take hold.

"That puts a big dent in our ability" to serve customers, he told the committee.

The duration of AT&T's iPhone exclusive was also a point of discussion. Device exclusives typically end after 12 months. AT&T's deal, penned around 2006, is still going on.

Citing contract confidentiality, Roth would only say that AT&T has a "multiyear" arrangement with Apple. That has been AT&T's standard response since the iPhone made its U.S. debut in June 2007.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who raised the question, suggested he might want to revisit that question with AT&T later.