US District Judge Denise Cote threw out a group of five lawsuits brought by wireless customers who claimed that since 1998 the nation's five largest wireless carriers had unlawfully tied the sale of handsets to the sale of wireless services. Cote ruled that the plaintiffs had not provided proof that any defendant had the marketing power necessary to damage competition in the US wireless market by using the practice. The carriers involved in the suit were AT&T Wireless Services, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint.
For more on the lawsuit:
- view this piece from the Kansas City Star