For the past several weeks in Washington, lawmakers and advocacy groups have been ramping up their calls for the government to step in and end exclusivity agreements between wireless carriers and device makers.

Today, Michael Copps, the acting chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said he has directed the agency's wireless bureau to open an inquiry into the matter.

That debate puts CTIA at a bit of a crossroads. Its four largest members, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, have made exclusive device agreements a standard practice, and a cornerstone of their marketing operations.