During an interview for Bloomberg, Didier Lombard, France Telecom's CEO confirmed recent rumours indicating that the French telco's mobile subsidiary will be the exclusive partner for the distribution of the iPhone in France.
"It's an important product for us because a lot of French consumers love technology and want this product in their pockets" Lombard told Bloomberg.
Lombard also told that the iPhone is probably coming in November but did neither reveal the pricing of the device nor the subscription plans that will be associated with it. Considering the iPhone was announced for 399€ in Germany, one can assume that the pricing in France will be the same though.
Though Apple announced respectively its commitment with O2 (UK) and T-Mobile (Germany) on Tuesday and Wednesday, the company has yet to make any official statement regarding its partnership with Orange for France.
We may expect Apple to make its official announcement with details during the Apple Expo show which takes place in Paris next week. The iPhone will be released on November 9 in both the U.K. and Germany while no exact date was provided for France yet.
Today's news clearly confirm an exclusive MacScoop report published on August, which specifically revealed that Orange had nearly won the deal to distribute the iPhone in November in France. The report also provided further details such as the fact that the iPhone will also be available at the French retailer "Fnac" stores.
MacScoop's report was widely corroborated by the French and International printed and online press.
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