07/17/2008, 3:10pm, EDT
Thursday, July 17th
iPhone petition gains attention of Italian antitrust
Competition among multiple iPhone carriers in Italy has not resulted in low prices and happy customers, notebook italia reports. Controversy over service prices has led to a 10,000-signature petition, expressing disappointment with excessive costs.
The petition, translated, states that "we [the signers] want to declare our indignation against the tariff policy that TIM and Vodafone have decided to apply in the sale of the iPhone 3G." Comparisons are made to superior rates in the Netherlands and the UK, among other regions.
The petition has caught the attention of an Italian antitrust authority, which has opened an investigation into the appearance of unfair pricing. The two carriers charge €1,200 to €1,600 over the course of a two-year contract, with strict data usage limits -- this compares to O2 in the UK, which is charging the equivalent of €800 with an 18-month contract and unlimited data.
Filed under: iPhone
Other story tags: iPhone 3G, Italy, antitrust
, 
, 7
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
Rogers Canada...
Now if the Canadian government could do the same thing.. Rogers has now taken 1st place as the biggest Iphone ripoff worldwide. Rogers was presented with a petition consisting of over 60,000 signatures and did nothing!
Rogers Canada...
Now if the Canadian government could do the same thing.. Rogers has now taken 1st place as the biggest Iphone ripoff worldwide. Rogers was presented with a petition consisting of over 60,000 signatures and did nothing!
part of the problem
is Apple is mandating initial profit of the device and then the provider Companies [who are normally in the place of dictating phone pricing] still want their profit on top of that and making the comusner eat it both ways_
@Herbaliser
Far be it for me to defend Rogers I signed the petition, but they did do something (not enough but something).
They are not the worst just the worst in the english speaking world. I got a plan from Rogers for $35 $15 6.95 $.50 $30 = 87.45 - 15% VIP Tax that is almost reasonable (They need to drop the to non government Taxes and lower the Talk $) but other than that I guess I can live with this plan for now.
@UberFu
Apple charges the carriers a price that exceeds the cost the customer pays and then makes back their "loan" from the customer in the monthly contract price. This is no different than any other subsidized phone and, hence, is no "problem". Did you really think that other handset makers are selling their units at a loss to the carriers?
jstephe..
Nice to see people like you endorsing unfair, unethical business practices. What is the point in signing the petition then signing a 3 year contract with Rogers? Put your money where your mouth is and be thankful that there are some of us who will make sacrifices to see changes made which will benefit all users
Re: jstephe
But, as he said, Rogers did do something (changed their plan somewhat).
And he's being a loyal Apple man, buying Apple products regardless of costs and feelings to make sure Apple keeps being profitable (and helps my stock stay high).