Apple to release unlocked iPhone in France

Network World - Apple is releasing an unlocked version of the iPhone that will allow users to run it on various cellular networks. But you have to live in France to get it.

Under a just-announced deal, European mobile carrier Orange will be the exclusive source for the iPhone in the French market. The unlocked phone is concession to a French law that forbids companies to bundle a cell phone to a specific mobile operator.

According to a report in the International Herald Tribune, Orange will offer both a locked version for its French net for about $560 and an unlocked version for a higher, but undisclosed, price. Both are expected to be unveiled in November.

Apple recently signed exclusive deals, similar to the one with U.S.-based AT&T, with Britains O2, the wireless division of Spains Telefonica, and with Germanys T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.

According to the Tribune report, Orange wouldnt say whether it had agreed to give Apple a share of the service revenues generated by iPhone users. This is one of the most striking features of Apples move into the mobile phone market. The Tribune quoted a Nortel Networks executive on how revolutionary this change is.

"For operators, having a handset maker suddenly demand a slice of their revenues is like being asked to change your religion," said Gerry Collins, director of strategic marketing at Nortel, a Canadian company that makes wireless phone networks. "This is really a significant change for the industry.

From the outset, Apples decision has come under concerted attack by hackers trying to unlock the phones SIM card, thereby allowing the phone to run on a network other than AT&T. Apple has made a just-as-concerted counterattack to undo those hacks.