Mobile Working Experiences
The realities of remote working
Thursday 18 December 2008, 11:34 AM
End of exclusive iPhone contracts?
The French consumer watchdog has ruled that Orange must terminate its exclusive distribution deal with Apple for the iPhone.
Originally due to last 5 years, the contract must cease within 3 months, less than 1 year after launch. This will be a blow for Orange and is likely to impact on revenues as the monopoly is revoked. The watchdog claimed the deal was holding back growth in smartphone sales in France and was anti-competitive.
It leaves the door open for further challenges in the UK - could O2's hold over the iPhone be challenged in a similar manner? The iPhone has been very successful and still (IMHO) lacks a competent competitor in the touchscreen smartphone space. Analysts view that the iPhone has given O2 access to a highly lucrative segment of customers most of whom have signed up to 2 year deals.
So the legal depts at UK operators will be sharpening their teeth?
The picture may not be so clear for a number of reasons - 1) the watchdog highlighted that the decision had been based on the structure of the French market which is less competitive than other countries, 2) Vodafone tried and failed to challenge the deal in Germany 3) the French are notrious for their anti-monopolgy stance and finally how many customers have chosen their own network by unlocking their SIM after purchase?
Watch this space - their may be another twist to the iPhone story....
Originally due to last 5 years, the contract must cease within 3 months, less than 1 year after launch. This will be a blow for Orange and is likely to impact on revenues as the monopoly is revoked. The watchdog claimed the deal was holding back growth in smartphone sales in France and was anti-competitive.
It leaves the door open for further challenges in the UK - could O2's hold over the iPhone be challenged in a similar manner? The iPhone has been very successful and still (IMHO) lacks a competent competitor in the touchscreen smartphone space. Analysts view that the iPhone has given O2 access to a highly lucrative segment of customers most of whom have signed up to 2 year deals.
So the legal depts at UK operators will be sharpening their teeth?
The picture may not be so clear for a number of reasons - 1) the watchdog highlighted that the decision had been based on the structure of the French market which is less competitive than other countries, 2) Vodafone tried and failed to challenge the deal in Germany 3) the French are notrious for their anti-monopolgy stance and finally how many customers have chosen their own network by unlocking their SIM after purchase?
Watch this space - their may be another twist to the iPhone story....
