Paris (France) - Struggles with France's leading mobile service provider and even with French law may prevent the iPhone from providing customers with a "joyeux noel".

According to reports, French telecom provider Orange has been unable to come up with an agreement with Apple over the iPhone pricing plan.  Apparently Orange is quite unhappy with the cut that Apple wants to receive from monthly subscription payments.

Apple has reportedly asked Orange for 30% of all service revenue.  Although the mobile company is having a hard time swallow that deal, Apple's partner in the UK, O2, is rumored to be doling out 40% of its earnings to Apple.

Another taxing issue comes in the legal environment.  In France, mobile service providers must, by law, make phones available without a service contract.  That way consumers can simply swap out SIM cards from phone to phone.  So far Apple has reportedly not found a way to comply with that law.  This would lead to people from all over the globe being able to buy a French iPhone and using their own mobile service plan, with Apple getting nothing from that cost.

It had been reported earlier that Orange and Apple would bring to iPhone to France later this year.  Many were even expecting a joint announcement to include Orange when Apple revealed its UK plans.  For now, though, the French iPhone will remain on the backburner.

Hope all goes well.

Oct 08, 2007 11:36     

Make any business deal, but keep the phones unlocked. Can you imagine a locked TV set or locked radio or locked VHS radio? "people from all over the globe being able to buy a French iPhone" selling millions more of iPhones is not a good thing? What am I missing?
enewmen report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: Hope all goes well.

Oct 08, 2007 12:27     

I hate
John P. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: Hope all goes well.

Oct 08, 2007 12:29     

(Please disregard my previous comment, I accidentally hit enter in the Title box.) enewmen, Apple makes most of its profit from the service deals it makes with service providers (AT&T in the US). The iphone itself is sold at a loss (perhaps that is wrong, but at the very least, most of the profit is in the service contract). If the iphone is unlocked, you can buy an iphone, costing Apple money, and take it to another service provider that doesn't pay Apple any of its service revenue.

John P. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

just heard of locked phones?

Oct 08, 2007 13:01     

where have u been?? locked phones are really such a new custom for u? the comparisons to locked tv or radio are also poor analogies. selling millions of iphones w/o cut of ongoing airtime revenue is a big deal, comprendez? i would say u are missing much... a lot too much
petelobl report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

when the iphone was first introduced, apple was sel...

Oct 08, 2007 14:00     

when the iphone was first introduced, apple was selling each 8GB iphone with a more than $300 profit, that is nowhere close to being sold at a loss! http://www.isuppli.com/news/default.asp?id=7308 they recently cut the iphone's cost so now they are still making a more than $100 profit for each phone! where did u get you data from?
nellyspageli report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Simple solution....Charge more.....

Oct 08, 2007 14:20     

If Apple plans on recovering their loses on the hardware by getting a cut of the service revenue then, but can't the answer is quite simple. Charge more for an unlocked phone. Its not a new idea, you don't sign an agreement for a new phone in the US you pay more for the phone similiar to the few unlocked models sold states side. If Apple by French law can't lock the phone and would miss their cut of the service revenue pie, charge more for the cake, eat that, and STFU about it already.

kal326 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

most people write nonsense!

Oct 08, 2007 15:30     

to everyone that posts on these sites, please think before you write. do you think that any company makes a product that does not offer some type of profit? forget the phone companies and their 30% or 40% given to Apple. No way in hell will I believe that Apple (or any other company) will produce a product that has a loss at the manufacturing level. PLEASE! for example if a product is $100, no way in hell is that product produced at $100 or more, surely its produced lower than $100, even if its $99, still there would be something thats profitable.

alf report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hey pot, its kettle your wrong....

Oct 08, 2007 16:35     

Alf, you might want to listen to your own advise. Game console manufacturers almost always launch new products at price points below manufacturing costs. http://www.engadget.com/2006/0...ynch-mob/ http://www.news.com/PlayStation-3-component-prices-Why-so-high/2100-1043_3-6042226.html It was the same for the Xbox and Xbox360. Its also often done in retail as loss leader sales to get customers in the door.

kal326 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

It's illegal in belgium too

Oct 09, 2007 04:55     

The sale of locked phones is actually prohibited here in Belgium too, so it's not a strange custom at all in Europe. Note that as a result we have very cheap mobile plans: I pay around $15 per month for voice and always on data (and that includes enough minutes to cover my monthly needs and 10 MBs data).
erlik report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

what they said

Oct 09, 2007 05:09     

baaa
skythra report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re: Simple solution....Charge more.....

Oct 09, 2007 11:14     

Its not so simple. Because Apple have to design/produce an entirely new iPhone with a removable back to insert simmcards. While the current models have their simm-cards mounted in at the factory. It's not just "increase the price" and be gone with it. I think that the iPhone is big mistake. Period. Apple should have created the iPhones in line with Microsft's smart-phone model. Microsoft business model on software sales give much more freedom at the hardware manufacturors but also much problems at compatibility levels. Apple's all un der control approach gives a much better user-experience with much less h/w-compatibility problems. Unfortunatly in the comms-market H/W alone is not enough. There's also the telecomproviders whom want their share o/t money. The best option for Apple to do in Europe is buying Orange (or any other telecom-operator with full european coverage). Then they'd have their own telecom-operator AND have true full-controll. Then this shit would be over. But then we'd be argueingover monopolies again :-(

epdm report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

If the iPhone is so great...

Oct 09, 2007 11:51     

How much would a unlocked phone cost so Apple makes enough profit per unit? Double? This might be attractive to people who want to use the new phones with service they are already paying for. Yes, I heard of locked phones before. Never liked it and I'm willing to spend more to get unlocked. Actually, if I can't even add a SIM card to the phone, I won't bother - useless at any price.
enewmen report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

to epdm, enewmen

Oct 09, 2007 13:31     

umm... where did you hear that current iphone models have the SIM built in from the factory?? iPhones have a removable SIM "tray" at the top.
Joe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

@ Joe

Oct 09, 2007 16:08     

I actually didn't know if the iPhones have built-in SIMs. If this is the case, I'll just be further turned-off. http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/06/28/iphone.return.and.repair/
enewmen report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0