Jerry Brito

More French wireless bashing

The WSJ reports that the French government has “rejected the sole bid it had received for the so-called third-generation, or 3G license, from French Internet start-up Iliad SA, on the grounds that it didn’t meet required financial criteria.” It also says that the “failed auction for a fourth mobile-operator license could forestall new competition and keep prices at their lofty levels for consumers[.]”

It seems like the French government is going to try to remove the technical roadblocks stopping the deal, and that desire for more competition is certainly gratifying. But what I’m more curious about is why there aren’t more bidders? After all the WSJ also says, “France is one of the more desirable markets in Europe for operators. Prices have remained high and competition — limited to the three operators — isn’t as brutal as elsewhere. Italy, for example, has four mobile operators and is set to roll out more.”

It wouldn’t have anything to do with forced business models, would it?

October 11, 2007 | Comments |

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    In all countries in Europe you can buy phones both locked and unlocked, except in those countries where selling locked phones is illegal. There you'll get only unlocked phones. In Belgium you'll get only unlocked phones. In Italy most phones are sold unlocked too. In Finland for no locked phones are sold except for 3G phones.


    In all countries in Europe where locked phones are sold you can get a locked phone unlocked (sometimes for a fee, sometimes for free).


    Most countries have laws to this effect on the books, that are similar to those of France. It's just France that gets a bad rap in this respect at the moment because Apple just happened to run in to these laws in France before running in to them anywhere else.


    If Apple had tried to get it's phone to Finland first it would have run into a similar problem. But Apple would also have run in to other problems there, as Fins are used to higher spec'd phones than the current iPhone, so maybe that's why Apple went to those countries first where the mobile phone consumer is less sophisticated.

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