Apple, France's Orange Confirm iPhone Partnership

Apple said Tuesday that French wireless carrier Orange, a France Telecom brand, will be the exclusive partner for the iPhone in France.

Orange will begin offering service for the iPhone when the device goes on sale in France on Nov. 29. Apple said the 8-gigabyte iPhone will cost EUR399, or about $565, when it goes on sale.

France will become the third European country, in addition to UK and Germany, to have the iPhone.

Apple shares rose 1.1% to $168.90 in afternoon trading.

Reports over recent weeks in the French press had suggested there were tensions between the two companies over what share of subscriber revenue Apple would get. Earlier Tuesday, French business weekly Challenges reported that France Telecom Chief Executive Didier Lombard visited Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs last week in Cupertino, Calif., to resolve the problems.

A spokeswoman for France Telecom declined to comment on how the revenue would be shared between the two companies, saying the clauses of the contract with Apple remained confidential. According to Challenges, the agreement will see Apple receiving 30% of subscriber revenue.

The iPhone will be sold in France both with and without a contract in accordance with French consumer law, the France Telecom spokeswoman said. While the iPhone will cost EUR399 with an Orange contract, the spokeswoman said the price without a contract had yet to be determined, adding that more details would be released closer to the launch date.

(Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.)

-Rex Crum; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 16th October 2007