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Despite the looming issue of open access, the past two years have seen a return to handset exclusives as a key competitive weapon for operators, driven by the famous iPhone deals. Now, Norway-based international operator Telenor has won the latest iPhone agreement, and Sprint is hoping to extend its own high profile exclusive, for Palm Pre, into 2010.

The iPhone may not retain all the luster it had a year ago, but it does drive uptake of mobile internet services and is proven to attract new users for its carriers. Telenor will bring the handset to Sweden, Denmark and Norway in the next few months and could add further deals for its markets in eastern Europe and central Asia. However, it is not clear whether its agreement is exclusive - Apple has been pursuing volume lately, cutting iPhone prices and entering into multiple carrier deals in some countries. In others, like France, exclusives have been banned by law, a trend that is likely to gather pace around the EU.

Meanwhile, Sprint Nextel will have exclusive rights to the upcoming Palm Pre, which hopes to mount a credible challenge to the iPhone in the multitouch smartphone category, until at least the end of 2009, and is negotiating for a longer term. The Pre's launch date and pricing have not been confirmed but it is likely to hit the shelves in May or June, and Palm has already hinted it will be heavily subsidized by the carrier, which has been suffering a serious loss of customers and needs to take drastic action to restore its fortunes.

It would benefit from having at least six months to capitalize on its deal, especially as its rivals will make aggressive countermoves - Verizon could launch the newly announced LG Arena, another impressive multitouch superphone, while AT&T will be hoping for an updated iPhone later this year.

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