In a move that would potentially enable smaller carriers to offer popular phones with increased rapidity, Verizon Wireless announced on July 17 that it intends shortening the length of its handset exclusivity deals - limiting the term to six months.

The proposed move from Verizon - which has exclusivity deals with handsets like the BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Tour, LG Chocolate, and Samsung devices - coincides with the increased governmental pressure that most carriers are facing in terms of their size and exclusive deals that prevent other carriers from offering specific handsets.

The latest Verizon announcement implies that in nearly six months time, the handsets with exclusive Verizon arrangement would likely be available from some small regional carriers, which, otherwise, would have had to wait for their access to these phones for years.

The limited exclusivity move by the country's foremost mobile operator - which would also compel other carriers, like T-Mobile, Sprint, and most notably AT&T, to follow suit - came about after Verizon struck a compromise with 24 small carriers, which had urged it to terminate its exclusive deals with Samsung and LG Electronics.

In its letter to the lawmakers, Verizon said: "Effective immediately for small wireless carriers - those with 500,000 customers or less, any new exclusivity arrangement we enter with handset makers will last no longer than six months - for all manufacturers and all devices."