francetelecom
Latest
Orange's iPhone exclusive ruled illegal in France
After 13 months into a five-year exclusivity deal in France, the French competition agency has ruled the Apple and Orange (the mobile subsidiary of France Telecom) cartel illegal. Something that could have a knock-on effect throughout Europe. The agency criticized the Orange/Apple pact for having "grave and immediate" effect on the overall French mobile marketplace and thus, the French consumer, by introducing "a new flavor of rigidity in a sector that already lacks competition." The injunction, while temporary, is enough to allow other French carriers to distribute the iPhone 3G in time for the holidays. Shrug.[Thanks, Tieum and Nick]
France Telecom ups TeliaSonera bid, heated talks ongoing
Following a rather unceremonious rejection of a $41 billion offer earlier in the month, rumors are swirling that France Telecom is adding some extra cash onto its bid for TeliaSonera, a juggernaut carrier and ISP serving Nordic and Baltic countries. France Telecom's flagship brand is Orange, and if some sort of deal does go through, it could theoretically lead to Orange becoming one of the dominant carriers in the world with control over a huge swath of European spectrum. The talks, which are apparently still underway, are said to be extremely fragile -- they could end in tears of joy or sadness at any moment -- and France Telecom would like to get a deal done by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. More on this one as it develops.Update: The bid is dead -- again. Something tells us this isn't the last time we're going to hear about this.
Nokia soothes France Telecom into submission over Ovi
Slowly but surely, Nokia's winning over even the most skittish critics of its push into the content space, and the latest win might be the most symbolically satisfying for them of all. France Telecom, parent of Orange -- an early dissenter of the Ovi plan -- has announced that it has entered into a broad agreement with Nokia to co-brand its services with Espoo's own, much the same way T-Mobile Germany and others have done. The three-year deal will see music sales coming from Orange's stores and search and mapping solutions coming from Nokia, while both companies will offer video games. Despite the massive investment, it's starting to look like that 2010 payoff date Nokia has planned might not be unreasonable in the least.[Via textually.org]
First month yields 70,000 iPhone sales for a happy Orange
We're still talking about a submicronic fraction of US sales, but Orange is happily touting that it hawked over 70,000 iPhones in their first month since launch, a figure that lies squarely in the middle of the 50,000 to 100,000 it had hoped to sell in that period. Perhaps more interestingly, 48 percent of those sales went to Orange customers, implying that the other 52 percent sold were unlocked -- the only carrier-direct unlocked iPhone model currently being sold anywhere. Question is, what's going to happen to all these numbers once the 3G action goes down?[Via Mac Rumors]
Orange to sell contract-free iPhone for 649 euro plus 100 euro unlocking fee
France Telecom just announced that the iPhone will go on sale tonight at 6:30pm (18.30) at a dozen of its Orange stores across France. It will charge between €49 ($72) and €119 ($175) per month in addition to the €399 cost of the iPhone itself. Orange customers can unlock their iPhone for another €100 on the spot or free after 6 months -- though they're still locked into an Orange contract of 1 or 2 years. The iPhone will also be sold unlocked contract free for €649 ($957) or €549 ($809) with an Orange plan without a time commitment. Got it? Yeah, we're a bit confused too, but then again, it's definitely cheaper than the unlocked German iPhone.Update: Ah, clarity: AFP reports that an unlocked iPhone will cost €749 -- €649 for phone and €100 for unlocking. See, that wasn't so hard.
Orange's unlocked iPhone to cost "well below" 1,000 euros
While Orange seems to be holding out until the last minute to announce exactly how much its unlocked iPhone will cost, France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard has apparently dropped a few less-than-specific details on the matter in a recent interview, saying that it'll cost "over 500 euros, but well below 1,000 euros." Or, in US dollars, roughly somewhere between $740 and $1,500, but apparently closer to the former. A bit pricey to be sure, but it would certainly be cheaper than the €999 unlocked iPhone that T-Mobile is selling in Germany. As previously announced, a locked iPhone on Orange (complete with a two-year contract) will set you back €399. Look for things to get fleshed out further when Orange gets official with its iPhone offerings on Thursday.[Thanks, Holger]
Orange nonchalantly confirms iPhone deal in France
We're still waiting for official word from Apple on this, but it would seem that France Telecom's Orange has sealed the iPhone deal. In the wishy-washiest of public announcements, chief executive Didier Lombard said that the iPhone would be distributed in France "before Christmas, probably in November." It will not be subsidized but no price was given. Having Steve issues are we? Guess you really can't compare apples and oranges.[Thanks, Thomas G.]
France Telecom confirms talks with Apple, no iPhone deal yet
Following earlier reports that Apple has struck lucrative deals with O2, Orange, and T-Mobile across the pond, France Telecom now confirms that "there are talks" for it to score an iPhone agreement of its very own. It's unknown whether the terms are the same as those allegedly hammered out with the other European carriers -- 10 percent of call and data revenue -- but at any rate, a senior exec at France Telecom is saying that he doesn't believe pen will go to paper for at least a few weeks "if only for technical reasons." Are those "technical reasons" related to the inclusion of 3G, by any chance?Update: Thanks, commenters -- indeed, this is all a little screwy. France Telecom is Orange, so it's unclear whether today's Reuters report is referring to the same group as before or another. We'll keep our ear to the ground.
