Debitel Wants To Offer iPhone Call Package On German Market

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Germany's third-largest mobile phone services supplier, debitel AG, is planning to retail a special calling package for use with Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone handset, if technically possible, a debitel spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

The debitel spokeswoman said the company welcomes T-Mobile Deutschland's preliminary move, announced earlier Wednesday, to allow consumers the option of buying an iPhone without any phone service contract attached, and without a SIM- lock in place.

However, the spokeswoman said, debitel is disappointed that T-Mobile Deutschland didn't first discuss such a solution with other players in the sector.

Debitel doesn't itself own a network, but uses those of four German operators. It resells the mobile phone service packages of those operators, and also retails calling packages under its own brand.

Apple has awarded to T-Mobile Deutschland, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), exclusive rights to sell the iPhone in Germany.

A SIM-lock which T-Mobile Deutschland had been placing on all iPhones sold limited users to using T-Mobile Deutschland's own network.

T-Mobile Deutschland's marketing strategy for the iPhone has been challenged in a regional court in Hamburg by the German unit of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD).

The debitel spokeswoman declined to say whether debitel would be filing a complaint on T-Mobile's iPhone marketing practices with Germany's federal network agency, but said it could be assumed that it would.

T-Mobile Deutschland had been selling the iPhone, which combines a phone, a wireless Internet connection and a digital music player, since Nov. 9.
source: http://money.cnn.com
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