Have you ever wondered why the Apple iPhone is only available on AT&T's network? Or why you can’t buy a Palm Pre and use it on Verizon’s network?

In his latest installment of "5 Minutes with Harold Feld," Public Knowledge’s Harold Feld explains why the industry practice of "handset exclusivity" stifles innovation and keeps new "smart" phones out of the hands of people who might need them the most.

"The problem is that we let wireless carriers do what we never let wireline carriers do, which is, they get to control what device connects to the network,” Feld says.

"Fortunately, people are becoming a lot less accepting of this as these devices are becoming a lot more like laptops, " he adds, noting that the Congress and the FCC are starting to take a look at the problem of exclusivity.

Watch it: