Exclusive Orange iPhone banned in France

The Conseil de la concurrence, France's competition regulator, has suspended France Telecom's exclusive Apple iPhone 3G deal - which means the phone will also be available from the SFR and Bouygues Telecom networks from tomorrow. France Telecom apparently had a five-year deal with Apple to sell its iPhone on the Orange network in France, which was seen as damaging competition in the mobile phone market. [Sources: WashingtonPost.com; ArsTechnica.com]

France's SFR could launch Europe's first 3G femtocell service

Unstrung.com says that France's SFR could be the first European network to launch a 3G femtocell service, letting customers improve their 3G coverage at home by providing a mini-cellsite linked to their broadband connection. The service could be launched in a few months with help from fixed-line operator Neuf Cegetel, which is 40.5% owned by SFR. Neuf Cegetel is currently France's second-largest broadband provider (behind Orange), while SFR is the country's second-largest mobile network (again, behind Orange).

Vivendi still waiting for Vodafone to sell

Entertainment company Vivendi has said it wants to buy Vodafone's minority stake in French mobile network SFR. Vivendi's chairman, Jean-Bernard Lévy, said “I am not campaigning, just waiting pat­ient­ly as there will be an opp­ortunity one day even if they tell me they would like to keep it”. Vivendi currently owns 56% of SFR, with Vodafone owning 44%. [Source: FT.com]