RSSOrange loses its iPhone exclusivity appeal in France
By Tim Conneally | Published February 5, 2009, 10:25 AM
Yesterday, after Orange lost its appeal to retain its position as the exclusive iPhone carrier in France, complainant rival mobile operator Bouygues Télécom was reportedly ready to move on and start offering its own iPhone deals.
Apple's iPhone was made available unlocked through Orange, but at approximately double the price (€749) of a phone under contract with the mobile operator. The deal between Apple and Orange was for five years, with a three year exit provision for Apple.
In September of 2008, rival mobile operator Bouygues Télécom filed a complaint with the French Competition Council, which resulted in an investigation of the possible damage such a price hike would cause. By December, the council had reached a provisional decision to limit the iPhone's exclusivity to three months with Orange.
"The Council takes the view that the exclusive rights granted to Orange, in the conditions in which they were negotiated, may be prohibited by EC and national competition rules," said the group in December, "[They] are likely to do serious and immediate damage to competition in the mobile telephony market and to consumers."
Orange appealed the decision with the Paris Court of Appeals, but yesterday the court handed down its judgment in favor of the Competition Council.
Bouygues Télécom reportedly did not hesitate to say it would soon be carrying the iPhone (pending negotiations with Apple, of course.)
You guys are hilarious. The whole issue here is that Apple making exclusive contracts with carriers limits competition. If ONLY one carrier offers the iPhone then they can charge what they want and put unreasonable contracts on the phone. The whole issue here is choice and price. Once \other carriers offer the iPhone, it will drive the price down and give the consumer options.
In the US, people are forced to use AT&T or play a bunch of games hacking the device if they want an iPhone on another carrier. Why shouldn't people have the choice to select which hardware they want to buy and what carrier they want to use? The French government is making a choice that is in the best interest of the consumer.
This is NO different than deregulating the telephone companies. Orange and Apple have entered an agreement that has created a monopoly in the market. It's not as if the hardware can ONLY work on the Orange network. Moreover, companies should not be allowed to have exclusivity when it comes to selling their products.
The argument that companies have a right to make a profit is ludicrous. The diamond, oil, or pharma industries are excellent examples of what happens when companies have exclusivity in the market. The consumer gets punished because there are limited or no alternatives to their purchasing their product.
You are advocating destroying competitive practices and hurting the consumer. I am not saying Apple should not have some exclusivity. However, once the product is in the channel and been out for a while, any company should be able to call up and resell their product and make a profit from the popularity of the iPhone.
Score: 2
|I +1 you, Betaguru. It's all about pushing prices and market domination. UK tariffs by mobile phone (cellphone) operators in the UK can be absolutely ludicrous. Networks then having exclusive phone deals makes the entire matter worse. Competition is healthy for the market. MS have been hammered by the EU for integrating IE with Windows, or having Media player bundled with it - and that's their own product.
Why do phone operators get exclusive deals for hardware which they don't even make? It's all pretty anti-competitive, and in my view is part of what causes market stagnation rather than competition to cause prices to be forced down
Score: 0
|LOL!
So the Frogs finally tackle an issue they can actually deal with - in their usual exemplary manner!
The Frogs should stick to trying to deal with the overflowing morgues as relatives (as well as their politicians) cannot be bothered to return from 'holiday' (vacation for the rest of us) to claim the bodies of relatives who died from 100 degreeF temperatures (especially as they have yet to figure out the laying in a cool bath(yeah, I should qualify that term as well for the French courts!) can counter such an extreme).
And one wonders why finding material was just so easy for Monty Python!
Score: -3
|Socialism rocks!
not
Score: -3
|I actually disagree with the French court's decision. Both companies entered into a negotiated agreement for exclusivity. It should not be up to the courts to modify this arrangement because there is no damage to competition. So the other mobile companies cannot sell iphones, they have the right to make exclusive arrangements and deals with other manufacturers. This does not hinder their ability to compete as a cell phone company, but it does make them unable to sell iphones to their customers.
Apple has the right to make a deal for profit and Orange can also conduct business in this fashion. The french court is making a mockery of international business law. I'm probably in the minority with my thoughts, but I do not see the potential damage to other mobile companies in France. The iphone is exclusive to AT&T in the U.S., but I don't see other companies going bankrupt over it?
Score: -3
|Good luck with those Apple negotiations. US companies should take note and stop this type of stuff from coming to this country. I don't want government forcing one company to work with another company.
Score: -3
|