Vodafone Challenges T-Mobile's iPhone Exclusivity in Germany [Updated]

DUESSELDORF -(Dow Jones)- The German unit of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) has obtained a restraining order against Deutsche Telekom AG's (DT) T-Mobile unit prohibiting the German telecommunications giant from selling Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in Germany.

The restraining order was issued by a regional court in Hamburg Monday, a Vodafone Deutschland spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Vodafone is questioning Deutsche Telekom's iPhone sales practices, the spokesman said. Deutsche Telekom is marketing the iPhone exclusively in Germany.

Specifically, Vodafone is questioning the iPhone's exclusive use in T-Mobile's network and the use of the device being limited to certain fees within T- Mobile's subscription offerings.

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And in related news

Court orders Telekom to sell iPhone without subscription
Dusseldorf, Germany (dpa) - Vodafone said Monday it had won a court order requiring its rival, Deutsche Telekom, to sell the Apple iPhone in Germany without a mandatory calling plan.

The stylish touchscreen phone-cum-music-player went on sale this month in Germany with Telekom as exclusive vendor. The telco requires buyers to sign up to a two-year contract with its T-Mobile wireless network.

Telekom confirmed it had received a temporary injunction.

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nobody (as far as i know) in the us had to sign a contract to buy one, you sign up at home via itunes. no big deal.

Sounds to me like a step in the right direction, and good news for the consumer. I'm not a fan of restrictive practises myself.

nobody (as far as i know) in the us had to sign a contract to buy one, you sign up at home via itunes. no big deal.

In Germany yes you have to sign when you buy. No Apple online store purchase, only at T-Mobile stores.

The problem is that its locked to a network and stupid rates. Like the 50 Euro "unlimited" internet is limited to 200Mb. Its not possible for an existing customer to walk into a T-Mobile shop, buy an iPhone and just leave then use it on their existing plan. Nor for a Vodafone (or other companies) customer to buy one and use it on that network. This unknown in the German marketplace and is monopolistic.

This is one I hope Vodafone wins to set a presidence for unlocking the iPhone

EDIT: It should be noted that Vodafone also has exclusive phones like the Samsung Qbowl, but its not sim locked.

My guess is that Vodafone turned down the iPhone in Germany and other markets because it didn't like (or couldn't afford) Apple's terms.

T-mobile now have to comply (and pay the price for) with those terms, and thus trying to claw-back the cost of those terms by restricting customers more that they normally would. But this seems to be against Germany's anti-competition laws.

So Vodafone is quite right to have a go. Maybe if Vodafone had intended to flout those same laws, it might have decided that going with the iPhone was a good business case.

And it can't be bad for the consumer. Let's hope that this is just the start.

SL

Apple is really getting into a big mess if they want to control a parcentage of the monthly bills generated by iphone customers all over the world.

I, for one, won't buy an iPhone because in Spain it will be exclusive with Movistar (Telefonica owns both Movistar and O2 in the UK). I've been on Vodafone for many years and don't miss a bit my time spent using Movistar.

It's quite easy actually: i'm pretty sure they'd sell a lot more iphones if it was an unlock product .. like all the phones Nokia or SonyEricsson sell.

I'm just surprised dtag thought they could get away with it.. they don't mess about with their laws in germany. (Unlike in the UK where it'll probably be about a year before the regulator gets around to doing anything)

ORF.AT is also reporting that Vodafone is against T-Mobile exclusivity.

nobody (as far as i know) in the us had to sign a contract to buy one, you sign up at home via itunes. no big deal.

Actually, by signing up in the US using iTunes (the only way to do it in the US) you are committed to a 2 year contract with AT&T.

This whole profit sharing approach will never come to fruition for Apple. People underestimated it, but the number of unlockers will continue to grow and they will not see a dime in kickback from them.

They could have sold it unlocked at a higher MSRP and made out like bandits. People overseas dont like long contracts and domestically users dont want to pay these crazy termination fees so they are leaving money on the table.

The desire to have complete control may work in computers, but I am not sure the same approach can be applied successfully in the cell market. Owners are constantly looking to customize and make their phone new again. It's a great device that was hyped so much that many aren't going to wait for Apple to rape another telecom, they'll just get an unlocked one and use it right away.