It would be less if an issue if the iPhone weren't so popular and AT&T weren't involved. But the iPhone takes a nearly dominant share of the smart-phone market right now, and AT&T has even been convicted as a monopolist in the past. The two-year service contracts and shortage of decent competitors probably contribute, too.
It was cute when Apple locked down its operating systems, because there was no serious threat to the market -- but with two big companies involved in flagrantly anti-competitive behavior, in a market the government understands better, there's a higher standard for fair play here.
There's a pretty large number of credible competitors in the smart-phone market - RIM, Palm, Nokia, Google, Microsoft and probably a few others. Also, there are other carriers than just AT&T.
So at this point I fail to see what's the issue other than some disappointed iPhone users. Maybe there's a legal problem. We will see.
It was cute when Apple locked down its operating systems, because there was no serious threat to the market -- but with two big companies involved in flagrantly anti-competitive behavior, in a market the government understands better, there's a higher standard for fair play here.