Vodafone alleges that the sale of an unsubsidized locked terminal with a 24-month contract violates German competition law, according to Simon Gordon, a Vodafone UK spokesman.
Last Monday, a court in Hamburg granted a temporary injunction against T-Mobile, although the terms of that order do not prevent the operator from continuing to sell the iPhone, according to representatives of T-Mobile and Vodafone.
European mobile phone operators usually subsidize the cost of terminals for those customers who sign long-term contracts, taking into account that these terminals are blocked so that they cannot be used with other operators. Some countries regulate this practice. Users can also pay full price for unlocked phones that can work with any network.
T-Mobile refutes the allegation that iPhone sales may violate German law.
“We have a unique device in our portfolio, but if you look at the market, this is normal,” says the spokesman for T-Mobile in Germany. “The main issue is that we will sell the iPhone. There is nothing to stop us from selling the iPhone.”
As Gordon indicates, Vodafone has not asked the courts to stop the sale of the iPhone. What Vodafone is seeking in court is a ruling that T-Mobile must sell an unlocked version of the iPhone for the same price or a lower price than the current version.
T-Mobile has indicated that it has sold about 15,000 iPhones on November 9, the day of the launch in Germany, although it has not announced any sales figures since then. The 8GB iPhone retails for $ 399, including 19 percent tax.
