Few days after its launch, the iPhone has already
become the apple of discord between Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom.
On Monday British-owned Vodafone said it had won a court
order requiring Deutsche Telekom, the official distributor of the Apple iPhone
in Germany,
the sell the gadget without a mandatory calling plan.
Apple’s iPhone went on sale on November 9 in Germany at 399
euros ($590) and Deutsche Telekom requires buyers to sign up to a two-year
contract with its T-Mobile wireless network.
T-Mobile has already reported that they sold over 10,000
devices during the first day on sale.
British-owned Vodafone said the injunction, to apply until
substantive argument before a court on the case, had been obtained from a court
in Hamburg. A
court spokeswoman said that T-Mobile, which secured the rights to sell the
iPhone exclusively in Germany,
can file an objection. Deutsche Telekom confirmed it had received a temporary
injunction.
“We will review the ruling and decide within the next 48
hours how to react,” said Alexander von Schmettow, a T-Mobile spokesman.
A court spokeswoman said that T-Mobile, which secured the
rights to sell the iPhone exclusively in Germany, can file an objection. A
court spokeswoman said that T-Mobile, which secured the rights to sell the
iPhone exclusively in Germany,
can file an objection.
Vodafone officials explained their action is not an attempt to
halt the iPhone sales, but rather to force Apple and Deutsche Telekom to sell the
device without a mandatory plan.
"We want it to be available to buyers without a
mandatory calling plan," he said. "If I had wanted to halt sales, I
could have, but I didn't.", Vodafone Deutschland head Friedrich Joussen
said in an interview in for Frankfurter Rundschau. Joussen said he expected a
substantive ruling within two weeks.
According to the German newspaper Spiegel, Joussen also fears that Apple’s
example could represent an inspiration for other mobile phone makers to tie
their phones with specific providers.
Unlike other handset makers, Apple has managed to lure the
telecom giants into signing a contract for iPhone’s distribution, according to
which the carriers must share their iPhone-generated revenues with the
Cupertino, CA-based computer manufacturer.
Although there is little known abut the terms of agreement
between Apple and mobile carriers there were rumors that the deal allegedly
stipulates that carriers will provide Apple with 10% of the revenues made from
calls and data transfers by customers over iPhones.
Also, before iPhone was announced for Europe
there have been reports that Vodafone refused to share its revenues with Apple.
In June, during the iPhone launch, Steve Jobs confirmed that
before signing the deal with Telefonica’s O2 and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile he
spoke with other carriers as well.
“It's kind of like getting married," Jobs joked.
"We dated a few people but didn't get married to them. I guess there are a
few upset girlfriends out there.”
According to a research note released by Gene Munster, a
Piper Jaffray analyst, in July, AT&T gives Apple $3 per month (over the
life of the 24 month contract) for every iPhone customer already with AT&T
and $11 per month for every new subscriber.
A Vodafone spokesman in London said the injunction was purely linked
to the German market and the group did not have any plans to repeat it anywhere
else, Reuters reported.
