Unsatisfied by the testimony they heard from experts and executives in the wireless industry at a series of hearings last month, a pair of senators are now looking to government regulators to launch a probe into potentially anticompetitive practices among mobile carriers.

In a letter sent Monday to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and the antitrust chief at the Department of Justice, Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) called for a regulatory review of competition in the wireless industry, highlighting the issue of identical increases in the rates the four largest carriers charge for text messages, the subject of a hearing he chaired in June.

"The cell phone companies testified that they did not coordinate their price increases in any way, and we received no evidence to contradict this testimony," wrote Kohl, who chairs the Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee. "Nonetheless, these identical price increases are hardly consistent with the vigorous price competition we hope to see in a competitive marketplace. Indeed, these price increases may represent a warning sign for the state of competition in the cell phone market."

Separately, John Kerry (D-Mass.) is speaking out in praise of Julius Genachowski, the newly minted chairman of the FCC, for pledging to review a petition arguing that the exclusivity deals between wireless carriers and device makers harm consumers and undermine competition.

"This is the kind of healthy oversight we want to see," Kerry said in a statement.

Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.