German iPhones locked again

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 4 Dec 2007 at 16:11

T-Mobile has been told that it no longer has to sell unlocked iPhones in Germany, as Vodafone's case has been overturned at the Hamburg District Court.

"We will immediately stop selling the unlocked iPhones," says a T Mobile spokesperson.

Vodafone recently went to court in Germany to stop the iPhone from being sold exclusively by T-Mobile.

"We're not asking it [T-Mobile] to stop selling iPhones. What we're asking for is that it sells unlocked phones," said a Vodafone spokesperson at the time.

For a short time, T-Mobile was ordered by the court to do just that, under a temporary injunction. The company complied, but priced the unlocked handsets at a hefty €999.

Shortly after this, the mobile service reseller Debitel offered to subsidise the purchase of unlocked phones, to match locked phones, when taking a contract from another provider through the company.

However, that temporary injunction has now been lifted and the case has been dismissed.

Vodafone says it is too early to tell if it will appeal, but claims it still has options under the German legal system and believes it would be beneficial for German consumers to be given the choice between different service providers.

"Vodafone Germany does not believe the pricing policy is in the best interest of the German consumer," says a Vodafone spokesperson.

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