A French appeals court has upheld a ban on an Apple iPhone-Orange exclusivity deal citing competitive concerns.
Rival mobile company UFC-Que Choisir's lawyer Jerome Franck welcomed the ruling as good news for consumers, saying more competition would "certainly drive down the iPhone's price."
France's competition authorities successfully sought to prevent Apple from offering the iPhone in France exclusively under the Orange deal.
Rival French operator Bouygues Telecom had fought successfully to prevent the exclusivity deal citing that the Apple-Orange partnership unfairly stifled competition.
France's third main mobile carrier SFR and the French consumer rights group UFC-Que Choisir joined the protests.
Apple and Orange lost an initial ruling in December, but appealed the decision. That decision was upheld today by a French appeals court, with Orange claiming it was "surprised" by the failure of today’s appeal.
Apple and Orange lost an initial ruling in December
Previously Apple spokesman Alan Hely said the iPhone manufacturer was deeply disappointed by the decision.
The iPhone, he said, has created “Vigorous competition among handset makers and carriers that benefits all consumers. Our partnership with Orange has enabled us to deliver unprecedented value to French consumers.”
Rival mobile phone providers and consumer rights groups were concerned about the length of the Apple-Orange exclusivity deal, five years, and these concerns were echoed by the French courts ruling.
The Apple iPhone is now reportedly available on other French websites, bundled with rival mobile phone contracts.
Orange says it has sold more than 600,000 iPhones in France since it began offering them in November 2007.
Despite today’s failure, Orange said they intend to lodge another appeal with France's highest court, the Cour de Cassation.
Unfortunately for Bouygues Telecom, the competition council's decisision came too late for the important Christmas sales season.
The company is still negotiating with Apple the terms under which it will sell the iPhone, it said Wednesday, and it plans to launch the phone as soon as a deal is finalized.
Along with France's other mobile network operator, SFR, Bouygues Telecom offers interested customers the opportunity to sign up to a mailing list for more information when the iPhone becomes available.
Both networks welcome customers who have bought a phone directly from Orange and unlocked it for use on other networks.
Neither Apple nor Orange responded to repeated requests for comment on the appeal court's ruling, or on their future plans to distribute the iPhone in France.
Perhaps realising that exclusive deals were making it more enemies than friends among mobile operators, Apple changed strategy with its third wave of launches, choosing to sell the iPhone 3G through multiple operators in countries including Australia, India and Italy.
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