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iPhone in France Faces Challenges

Posted October 6, 2007 10:17 AM by Tony Davis
Categories: Apple AT&T Software Touchscreen 

Many European countries have strict laws that prevent locking of phones or that require that a locked phone be unlocked for a fee during the first 6 months of a contract and for free after 6 months. In Italy, its against the law to lock a phone, in Belgium the law does not allow the sale of locked phone. In The Netherlands and Spain, providers must provide unlocking codes, but can charge a fee during the first 12 months. The unlocking code must be provided for free after 12 months. In Finland carriers are not allowed to sell locked phones.

Engadget is reporting that there are rumors that the relationship between Apple and French carrier Orange have soured over the unlocking issue to the point where Orange may not go ahead with their announced launch of the iPhone. These restrictions and Apple’s apparent stubborn commitment to a locked phone, exclusive carrier agreements and a share of subscription revenue, means that the Apple’s addressable iPhone market is substantially smaller than the current smartphone market.

So either Apple’s plan was to deliberately go after a limited number of geographies, or they had bigger plans but did not do their homework. Either way, they are not capitalizing on a device that is way ahead of any competitive products. The iPhone will definitely have been a wake-up call to its competitors who for many years have not invested any time in the user experience. I bet that this will be the new frontier and in 6 months time we will see multi-touch screens on the Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Symbian based phones.

Its a pity really, Apple had a clear shot at really becoming the standard in mobile computing but with the locked iPhone and their (probably) restrictive carrier commitments they have limited the potential of the device.

 

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Comments

  1. Italy allows SIM-lock.

    http://www.telecomsitaly.com/2006/05/consumer_friendlier_simlock_me.html

    Finland allows SIM-lock on 3G phones.

    http://www.tml.tkk.fi/Opinnot/T-109.7510/2007/reports/Mobile Market in Finland.doc

    Posted by J. Griffith on October 6, 2007 2:11 PM

  2. Belgium Does not allow it, its true i live here… and actually i have a hacked iPhone here (shipped from america) and the other day the Rep from the apple center (not even a real apple store just a premium reseller) almost kicked me out of the store for having an iPhone with me… but anyhow, i think apple should change their mind about that strict lockdown, it would make all of us happy and i would probably even get another phone if it was fully unlocked working natively on my carrier with an apple iPhone friendly plan (i’m scared of my first phone bill with iPhone cause of teh data thing) and at the end they would look like the hero company that cares for us…

    Posted by David Manrique on October 6, 2007 2:26 PM

  3. In 1998, the Spanish telecom regulator, CMT, saw that Spanish mobile carriers already provided unlocking codes for free after 12 months.  So CMT decided not to put any legal framework in Spain.

    http://www.cmt.es/es/publicaciones/anexos/Cap-V.pdf

    Therefore there is no law in Spain that forces any carrier to unlock after 12 months.

    Posted by J. Griffith on October 6, 2007 3:52 PM

  4. Muktitouch is not going to appear on competing preoducts, it’s locked down to Apple tighter than anything in history. It’s patented and they aint licensing.

    If you mean a crappy rip-off of Multitouch, well maybe.

    Posted by Paul on October 7, 2007 3:51 AM

  5. From Belgium as well. If Apple sticks to its locked iPhone principle, that fact may well backfire in a severe way. The iPhone - and Apple in a way - would get the reputation of being unusable in most European countries, and once that reputation is set, very few people will look back. If Apple is satisfied with a US-phone only, fine. But not selling the device in a lot of European countries - leaving the market wide open for the others to jump in - out of greed (yep, I do not see any other reason: money, more money, and even more more money) could in the end become the real reason why the iPhone did not became the succes it deserved, looking back at it in a few years. I would buy one now, but I’m not going to wait 5 years to get a new mobile phone. And if a locked iPhone means no iPhone in Belgium (and as most people, I’m am NOT going to hack one) that means by by iPhone. So be it.

    Posted by Rudy on October 7, 2007 5:13 AM

  6. i think Rudy is right BUT… the problem is also that with locked devices in A or B country the users are tied to that simcard and when you have people that travel a lot between countries like we europeans do… then what happens then? huge international data bills? cause we can’t just pop up a simcard from the country we’re visiting, and its proved that the roaming data plans are very expensive… i do how ever have to admit i gave up the waiting and got a hacked iPhone wich i love and will not upgrade…  but yes, i’d like to see it running in belgium with a decent iPhone custom plan… i guess those are just dreams. for now…

    Posted by David Manrique on October 7, 2007 6:03 AM

  7. kvhptlkk  drhfnpor  fcyewguw http://vdlfpdcc.com lzguheeo kggwtyvs

    Posted by eturivhp on November 23, 2007 12:40 AM

  8. I think all the countries should have laws requiring sellers to sell Unlocked Mobile Phones. If I pay for a phone, why do I have to pay again to get it unlocked? I shold enjoy the freedon of my phone and should be able to decide which provider I should go with.

    Posted by Unlocked Mobile Phones on May 24, 2008 11:37 AM

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