A Defeat for Openness
December 4th, 2007 by Maddog
The cause for opening up consumer choice in telecommunications took a hit
today when a German court ruled that Deutsche Telekom can lock iPhone
users to its network. This was reported by Bloomberg in the story
"Deutsche Telekom Wins Ruling in IPhone Sales Dispute (Update3)":
Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's largest
telephone company, can block buyers of Apple Inc.'s iPhone
from using the handset on competitors' networks, a German
court ruled, overturning an injunction won by Vodafone
Group Plc.
The Regional Court of Hamburg said in a statement today it
lifted an injunction obtained by Vodafone that stopped
Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit from selling the device
only with exclusive contracts or software that restricted
use on competitors' wireless systems.
Unfortunately, this is only one episode in a series of developments that
threaten the freedom of choice of wireless users. Wireless access, for
example, is quite often controlled by carriers who do not want users to
have choices about who to rely on for that access.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.infoweapons.com/blog/?p=99
--
Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to
do what we ought. -- Pope John Paul II
--[Manny [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Alternative Information and Opinion at http://www.phnix.net
Advocacy blog: http://mamador.wordpress.com
Personal website: http://mannyamador.multiply.com
--[Pro-Life Philippines]-------------------[http://www.prolife.org.ph]--
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