The Financial Times is reporting that the iPhone will be available in Germany, France and the UK under T-Mobile, Orange, and O2, respectively. This odd move — choosing to go with three different operators — is an example of the oddly fractured nature of European cell providers.
The announcements should be made at the IFA Trade Fair in Berlin at the end of this month and all of the operators declined to comment.
he contract, which was signed by three European mobile operators in recent days, requires that the operators hand over to Apple 10 per cent of the revenues made from calls and data transfers by customers over iPhones.
The Euro launch should happen in the fall, followed by more European countries and finally Asia. No pricing, but expect it to be on par with current iPhone prices and without carrier subsidies.
“This odd move — choosing to go with three different operators — is an example of the oddly fractured nature of European cell providers.”
Since when is dealing with non-monopoly competitors “oddly fractured”? This is the nature of free markets economies. Perhaps this needs some historical revisionism:
“This odd move — choosing to lock in to one particular operator — is an example of the oddly monopolistic nature of US cell providers.”
I was under the impression that operators in the US don’t even use the same frequencies – they’re still in a Betamax versus VHS kind of war.
I’m surprised that Apple is even considering sticking with single operators in Europe in the first place. People don’t stand for it. A phones a phone, a network is a network, just a different price. I can’t think of any other phone that is only available on one operator.