Orange's iPhone exclusive ruled illegal in France
By Thomas Ricker 
posted December 17th 2008 8:19AM
posted December 17th 2008 8:19AM
[Thanks, Tieum and Nick]
posted December 17th 2008 8:19AM
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@De :
No exclusive distribution deals means :
- for handset manufacturers : less commitments on volumes from operators on exclusive handsets and thus less handset variety.
- for end users : more expensive phones as exclusive handsets or variants tend to be more subsidised
@Felix :
Thank you but I happen to be French.
Let's try your example :
iPhone 16G is 600 euros unlocked and 130 euros subsidised by Orange
BB Bold is 500 euros unlocked and 200 euros with subsidies from Orange, SFR or ByT
Do you happen to see the difference ?
jb they really got you good. You are willing to fight for a system that rips you off - quite the achievement in marketing!
The fact that the iPhone unlocked is ridiculously overpriced in France only proves the point that monopolies are bad. 600 EUR is close to $900. The way Apple markets the iPhone world-wide means that we never know what the actual, factual market price for the iPhone is - but I'd go with the lowest price for an unlocked phone, which is about $550 from Hong Kong or Australia. That's EUR 380. The EUR 220 difference? Say thanks to your local monopolist! That is how much they rip you off. You still love them?
In reality they want to sheperd you into the contract option and a 2 year commitment. That's why they overprice the no-contract option as much as they can. They need to offer it under the law, but they can make it as expensive as they want. And they do. Hello monopoly!
@nikster : hey maybe you're right and I've been corrupted to the core ;-)
It's indeed very conceivable that the price for a naked iPhone has been artificially boosted.
Just a remark though : I wouldn't compare prices for the same product on different markets where distribution or taxes might be different. Prices in Europe are usally consistantly higher than in the US or HK. Take for instance the iPod touch : $229 in the US, HK$ 1,850 ($238) in HK, EUR 229 ($333) in FR.
Maybe Im not getting this.... In france theyve made a ruling to have the iphone essentially free of just a single service provider?
In France (as in any other country except Australia) apple wanted to sell its iPhone through only one carrier, and the government was stupid and corrupted enough to let Apple sign a contract with a single provider.
In this contract it is written that only 1 carrier can sell the iPhone.
This is against the French Law, but once the contract is signed you NEED a court decision to break it (which took 13 months)
Meanwhile Apple made alot of money and kept under control his users against the law but they will never be punished although they should.
@Felix :
Please get your facts right before uttering complete nonsense :
- The French government has nothing to do with, does not review, and do not 'let' manufacturers sign contracts with network providers.
- The decision didn't took 13 months to be delivered : the Bouygues complaint has been filed in September 08.
- The actual contract is not against the French law. In terms of network compatibility, an unlocked version of the iPhone has been available since the launch. In terms of distribution, you are perfectly allowed to choose a distribution canal and sign exclusive distribution deals.
The Conseil de la Concurrence only intervenes when such deals might have an impact on the overall status of the competition in a given market. You can read their decision there, where they state that the overall nature of the French mobile market doesn't make it fluid enough, and where they consider that investments in handsets exclusivities happen at the expense of investments in offer prices and network.
http://www.conseil-concurrence.fr/user/standard.php?id_rub=255&id_article=1005
Who gives an F about the French. Everything is a double standard with them. They despise America but promote tourism to Americans. If I was Steve Jobs, I wouldn't even sell the iPhone in France simply out of spite.
BTW - Champagne is exclusive to France. It has to be sparkling wine everywhere else.
Of course Champagne has to be exclusive to France. Do you want Canadian wine makers to start calling their wines Napas?
a french company getting told of by french courts that wont last or will totaly be ignored the frech govenment is well known for feathering the nest of its "National Champions"
In the end who cares. If you like the Iphone then change carriers, if you dont like the iphone get whatever you want. Every cell company sucks to one point or another. they ALL drop calls and act like crap in various places. If you want other carriers in France to carry the iphone then maybe you can also help those carriers pay the bill it will take to upgrade their systems to support the Iphone Functionality. ATT spent 37M (If I remember correctly) to upgrade their systems. Who exactly do you suppose will foot that bill.
Next blog will be
Iphone owners whining about cost of their service, thinks world is unfair...
i never EVER thought i'd say this but, go france!
Since when is creating competition in a market NOT capitalism?
Why do people assume that socialism and capitalism are polar opposites?
In this case it would seem that to create a more "free" market, a little government intervention can be a good thing.
(but I don't see how that completely refutes capitalism...)
PS: Please keep putting the mime on every article about France. Loving it, LOL.
I am not an Apple fanboy in fact the only two products from Apple that I own/like is the iPod Touch and Final Cut Studio. But if Apple wants to sell their iPhone only through Orange that's their business.
This is exactly what happens when the government gets too involved in economics. Apple has a right to sell their iPhone to whoever they want. And than people wonder why France was having such a bad time? It was because of all their anti-American laws and socialistic views. That is the main reason why they elected a conservative to office.
I think the best graphic for his news would be a cross over an orange color iphone in france. :D