According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice has launched an inquiry into whether companies like AT&T and Verizon have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. According to the Journal, the inquiry isn't a full investigation yet -- and looks to explore exclusive handset deals and whether certain carriers "are unduly restricting the types of services other companies can offer on their networks." AT&T had this to say when Reuters asked for their thoughts on the DOJ's sniffing about:Scott Cleland, a "consultant" paid by AT&T and Verizon to regurgitate their policy positions, not too surprisingly, well, regurgitated AT&T's policy position. In a blog post, Cleland earns his cash, insisting that any in depth DOJ investigation would find "vibrant" competition in both the wireline and wireless sectors.

The No Choke Points coalition, stocked with carriers like Sprint and Covad, were unsurprisingly less friendly, taking the opportunity to again attack AT&T and Verizon for their special access pricing:While there's a lot of talk about the new Obama administration being tougher on corporate interests, so far that hasn't been particularly clear in the telecom sector. Obama disappointed many by protecting AT&T and Verizon from the NSA warrantless wiretap boondoggle, and stocking the DOJ with oodles of RIAA and MPAA lawyers. New FCC boss Julius Genachowski only just joined the FCC, and while he's saying all the right things, whether he's going to be tough on AT&T or Verizon is certainly not clear.

A real litmus test will be the administration's national broadband plan -- which could be a truly objective attempt to rectify the sector's competitive shortcomings, or a dog and pony show that pays lip service to consumer interest but does little to change the incumbent carrier stranglehold on the regulatory process.