We looked at the ongoing French court battles over Oranges five year exclusivity contract for the iPhone just the other day, and it now seems a ruling has been decided in favour of rival operator Bouygues Telecom, which filed the complaint.
The ruling stated that Oranges exclusive deal to supply the iPhone in France was excessive and risked serious and immediate damage" to competition on the French mobile market.
Analysts estimate the decision will cost Orange around EUR200 million in 2009 alone, though the obvious reduction in promotional costs and handset subsidies will set off a significant portion of those costs.
The Competition Council said it wasnt opposed to the concept of exclusivity contracts, but that future iPhone deals would be capped at just three months.
Although the decision has naturally been welcomed by rival providers, its still unclear how supply of the iPhone will now proceed in France. Exclusivity contracts or not, providers still need to work out a distribution deal with Apple which, should it decide to stem its own profits to a small degree, could continue to simply supply Orange.
Whether or not such action would then bring Apple directly in contest with the French authorities is another question, of course.
In the meantime Orange plans to launch another appeal with Frances highest court, the Cour de Cassation as it states the Appeal Court ruling placed France in a radically different position to iPhone exclusivity deals in Britain, Germany and Spain.
Reuters
Top Stories
News
May 4th, 2024
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Views E10 - Brawl Stars smashes 2023 revenue, Square Enix’s extraordinary losses, and Haaland signs for Clash of Clans
News
May 3rd, 2024
Week in Views - Apple back themselves bigstyle, Clash bags Haaland and dreams come true at King
Events
LA Games Conference 2024 | North America | May 6th |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Develop: Brighton 2024 | Europe | Jul 9th |