Apple Thoughts: Orange Can't Maintain Exclusive

"A French watchdog agency has decided that the exclusive deal between Apple and France Telecom's Orange is not fair and must be suspended. The suspension of the deal is set to take place no later than Thursday of this week. The reason for the short time frame for implementation is to give a chance to Orange rivals SFR and Bouygues Telecom to capitalize on holiday iPhone sales. An SFR spokesman said they were planning to begin selling the iPhone within a few hours of the decision, if Apple is cooperative."

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand the hubbub. I didn't understand it in the US last year and I don't understand it in France this year. Exclusivity agreements may not be great for customers, but I don't understand how they hurt customers. The only downside is you can't use the iPhone if you have some other carrier. Sorry, but why is that Apple's problem?

Exclusivity is a carrier's way of enticing you to join their network and I see nothing wrong with it. I know that puts me straight into the minority, but maybe that's a product of working for a cellular company and seeing the business from the inside. And no, I don't work for Orange or AT&T so I have nothing to gain from Apple's exclusivity deals.