According to the Financial Times the European Commission is scrutinizing Apple’s iPhone sales practices to find out whether the company is unfairly squeezing out competitors. The detailed nine page questionnaire sent to several European carriers asking if Apple imposes restrictions such as a minimum number of phones ordered, or a guarantee that the company will never get worse subsidies and sales
terms than other hardware manufacturers.
Apple said its contracts comply with EU laws.The inquiry is the result of private complaints from mobile operators and is at a preliminary stage.
“There are also indications that certain technical functions are disabled on certain Apple products in certain countries in the EU/EEA. If the existence of such behaviour were to be confirmed, it might constitute an infringement of [antitrust law]”
The questionnaire also asks whether Apple is using technical restrictions to limit the iPhone 5’s compatibility with 4G networks. This directly affects the Middle East and Africa as we are in the same ITU (International Telecommunication Union) region thus we share the same spectrum usage. Could the iphone 5 have some hidden potential?
VIA: Reuters
SOURCE: Financial Times
