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Law on UK contract free iphones
- Thread starter 20thebear
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I wonder why British people and/or companies are not proactive as much as German and French to against O2(Apple)'s monopoly...
Maybe British are too generous and kind?
Maybe British are too generous and kind?
Indeed there is no monopoly of any sort. The difference is France and perhaps Germany have different laws pertaining to business competition relating to rights of the customer - there's no "unlocking" law in the UK like there is in France - EU law has nothing to do with any of this, and in most cases National Law is not covered by EU law.
These are local competition laws in France and Germany. There's no overriding Euro legalise here. Sure as a member of the EU you are entitled to buy a french iPhone and expect warranty and support from Apple, but it's a PITA and expensive and so most people won't do it.
I'm interested in the fact that O2's contract states in order for me to use my iphone after the 18 month contract is up i have to continue to remain with them for phone service. This is unacceptable bullcrap and UK law stipulates a provider must on demand provide a code to unlock a phone after the contract period. So i await eagerly to see how this plays out.
M.
I agree, it is rather terrible, and I asked this question on another thread, but someone pointed out that there is no 'law' regarding this either. There are 'guidelines' about this on Ofcom's site (from the old Oftel organisation) but it doesn't actually say that providers must provide an unlock code, but rather they may provide a code - which are two different things entirely. So this isn't as clear-cut as saying "they have to give it to us", because that isn't the case, however I would have thought with enough people kicking up a fuss in 18 months time, this may change.
In September 2007, OnePhone UK submitted a response to Ofcom's consultation paper on porting --- and OnePhone asked Ofcom to consider clear simlocking guidelines including the specific inclusion of the provision of unlocking codes at the end of the contract.
Quote:
"In conjunction with the proposals to facilitate the porting of mobile numbers, OnePhone believes it is appropriate for Ofcom to consider the question of Operator SIM locks, which can provide a further bar to consumers switching their provider. We believe that a strong case can be made to introduce and require UK MNOs to adhere to a set of agreed clear standards (as exists in many other European countries, e.g. Sweden) for the practice of SIM locking of handsets, so that there is a single unified & harmonised practice in the UK, with which consumers can become conversant. This should specifically include the consumers ability to be relieved of any SIM-lock after an initial contract period has expired."
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/gc18review/responses/onephone.pdf
As of September 2007, there is no Ofcom sim-locking policy that forces the carrier to even give you the unlocking code at the end of your contract.
They are not "guidelines" at all --- they were real life examples of what UK carriers offered in 2002.
O2 and Apple don't have a monopoly in the cell phone market - far from it and in fact the deal is aimed at improving O2s position and establishing one for Apple.
Nowhere near a monopoly. We are awaiting for sales figures, however the N95 and Balckberry's are outselling the iPhone by a large margin when speaking to CWH and O2 stores.