Cell Phone
Viva la Unlocking! French Law Dictates Apple Must Allow Unlocking
Apple agrees to sell iPhones in France unlocked
The move comes after Apple met a roadblock when its international policy of banning unlocking was challenged by French law. A French telecommunications law, passed in 1998 states that manufacturers must offer to unlock consumers phones for a small fee for the first sixth months after release, and for free after that, as reported via French news site Les Echoes.
The locked version of the phone will cost €399, but the unlocked version’s price has not yet been announced by Apple. It may cost significantly more, though as French law mandates, Apple must agree to sell the phones unlocked at no premium after six months.
In the U.S. there are no laws that explicitly state that locking a phone to a network is illegal, though recent class action suits have accused Apple and its U.S. carrier, AT&T, of violating U.S. antitrust and warranty laws.
Apple is very much against unlocking iPhones, probably due to the fact that it makes a large cut of the phone contract, as detailed in the upcoming UK release. Apple loses this revenue when its phones are moved over other networks which do not give a cut of revenues to Apple.
Apple would not comment on whether its agreement to sell unlocked iPhones in France could be mirrored in the U.S., but it seems unlikely to do so, unless legally compelled to.
For now Apple will continue to wrestle with unlockers and legal issues in the U.S., but in France the news is “Viva la unlocking.”
