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Apple's Negotiations and the iPhone in Europe

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Apr 12, 2001
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The Guardian reports on more confirmation that O2 will be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK. They also claim that T-Mobile for Germany and Orange in France will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Of interest, they describe that Apple pursued a "divide and conquer" strategy in partnering the iPhone in Europe, pitting carriers against each other. In the end, O2 won the deal, but at a high price:
...at the 11th hour O2 snatched the UK deal with an offer that gave such a high proportion of revenues to Apple that none of its competitors could see any way of making any return on the phone, even over three years. They believed that even if it was treated as purely a loss-leading marketing product, a better return could be had by spending the money elsewhere.
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Apple is hosting a media event in London at 10am local time on Tuesday September 18th, 2007. While Apple is widely expected to launch the UK iPhone at that time, there are conflicting reports on the details.

ThinkSecret believes the iPhone will ship in the UK during the week of November 12th, and expect another media event around September 24th for France. Meanwhile, Gizmodo expects the UK iPhone to ship by the end of October.

Article Link
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2007/09/17/apples-negotiations-and-the-iphone-in-europe/
This is good news for all of the Europeans who need an iPhone fix. However, I don't think the iPhone will do so hot if it doesn't have 3G. And I don't think Europe will get 3G before America...
 
Buschmaster said:
And I don't think Europe will get 3G before America...
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Actually, a simultaneous rollout is more likely. Europe is a more demanding phone market. Apple won't be able to drag its feet with a feature if the population over there feels its necessary.

On a side note, it's interesting that the UK carrier is not going to make much money off of the deal in terms of iPhone plan sales; I'm guessing they're banking on other products and services being able to make up the shortfall?
 
O2 just care about their customer base. they'd give anything to beat Vodafone in the 'most popular' or 'most talked on' network. They've been underdogs for some time now and i reckon they'll do anything to get more subscribers on O2.

my $0.02
 
egibney said:
This is wonderful for our European based iPhone fans but what about us here in Canada?
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Thats what i've been thinking, maybe they're not trying as hard to sell it to us because we dont' have the same kind of population as europe, but how does that make me feel! :(
 
CHROMEDOME said:
The iPhone's success in Europe depends on 3G.
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Yes and no, If 02 offer a good EDGE service, people will unlikely not care so long as they can access web/e-mail on the move at reasonable speeds they will be happy......3g is on its was but I am pretty sure we won't see it in the UK in the first iPhone release. The hardware will most likely be the same as what is offered in the US.

ShadoW
 
Man Apple sure knows how to pull people's strings... but I mean it's the iPhone... Everyone saw how it carried AT&T to the next level, it can't be that much different for the UK... Then again the whole iPhone unlocking does add a twist to the story... I guess we'll find out soon!
 
iPhone in Canada

egibney said:
This is wonderful for our European based iPhone fans but what about us here in Canada?
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As I understand it:

  1. The only cell phone provider in Canada that could work with the iPhone is Rogers (iPhone uses GSM)
  2. Rogers has terrible data rates
  3. In the States, iPhone requires a data plan

I am thinking they want to include a data plan with the iPhone (so customers get the whole feel), but they could only go with Rogers, whose rates are crap. Not to mention they need the provider to rework their network (visual voicemail), and probably other conditions. But they can't do much here, because they can't play Rogers against anyone as they did in the States and Europe.

I'm sure it will happen, but the cost of redesigning the iPhone to work with other providers will probably outweigh the benefit of subscribers in Canada (for the time being).
 
BillyShears said:
As I understand it:

  1. The only cell phone provider in Canada that could work with the iPhone is Rogers (iPhone uses GSM)
  2. Rogers has terrible data rates
  3. In the States, iPhone requires a data plan

I am thinking they want to include a data plan with the iPhone (so customers get the whole feel), but they could only go with Rogers, whose rates are crap. Not to mention they need the provider to rework their network (visual voicemail), and probably other conditions. But they can't do much here, because they can't play Rogers against anyone as they did in the States and Europe.

I'm sure it will happen, but the cost of redesigning the iPhone to work with other providers will probably outweigh the benefit of subscribers in Canada (for the time being).
Click to expand...

I have to say that Rogers is THE WORST carrier in Canada ...worst contracts, worst rates, worst coverage...

If iPhone comes to Canada with Rogers I will not buy it, and i know lots of people who feel the same way.
 
biggest problem with Rogers is it doesnt work outside of major cities.... i had no choice but to go with a bell or telus phone, even though i live in a city, as i am often on the road.
 
If its not 3G...

If the iPhone is not 3G in the UK then Apple are going sell considerably fewer units than if it did have 3G. I think it would be a big mistake to release this in Europe without the 3G radio. Especially if they hope to charge similar prices to the US.
 
mjonson said:
i've heard 40% of revenue is going to apple ... that would be insane
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Yep. Reported on the Money programme today on 5 Live, so it sounds like a City rumour and those usually have legs to stand on. If so, those O2 plans are going to be wallet busting. The iPhone hack will consequently be one of the most popular downloads this year.
 
Whether the carriers that partner with Apple make much money off these deals will probably depend on the actual iPhone sales over the next year(s), and nobody knows what those sales figures will be. It's not a guaranteed return on investment, so the "winner" in each market may be either the company that "wins" the iPhone deal or the companies that pass on the deal.
 
The lack of 3G would be a backward step in Europe, and Apple should realise that. People like the latest technology, and no 3G would make it look the iPhone look a bit crippled. The cost of data traffic will also be a factor in the iPhones success over here too, and it can be very expensive (from bitter experience), so hopefully O2 will address that matter too.

What would Apple have done if all the carriers hadn't played ball and given them the finger to their demands? I think 40% of revenues sucks, and I would have told them where to poke the iPhone too. Vodafone aren't as successful as they are without knowing the mobile phone business, so kudos to them for not signing up.
 
Do you realize how awesome that would be if they released the iPhone in the UK on September 18th? I'm moving to London on the 20th!!! :D
 
weckart said:
Yep. Reported on the Money programme today on 5 Live, so it sounds like a City rumour and those usually have legs to stand on. If so, those O2 plans are going to be wallet busting. The iPhone hack will consequently be one of the most popular downloads this year.
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Agreed.

This mad deal with O2 is not good news. O2 are going to have some serious lock-in on their contracts, and high prices too :mad:

Maybe I should just get the iTouch this time 'round. I'm not going to be locked in to O2 for 3 years.
 
it would be interesting if it was to be released then but again no one knows really whats going to happen and if o2 have paid way over the top we the end user will end up suffering again. Iam happy with my nokia on t mobile and unlimited net usage not sure iam prepared to o2s data rate prices.
 
Personally, I rather Apple create a win win for the carriers. They provide the service, and improve service will only be better for Apple.
 
why cant apple just make a phone, why need to fix carrier?
i see that 3G most unlikely appear in europe now
but since gsm does not work in japan, only 3G will introduce in japan next year.
at that time, maybe it will appear in europe

microsoft got a 600 millions dollar fine. let apple try to lock user on one carrier, we will see how long it takes for EU courts to fine apple. hopefully, give them a huge fine, that will teach them about locking user.
 
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