AppleInsider Staff
Wireless carriers on the Old Continent are approaching the Apple SIM — Â a new, Apple-provided SIM card that would allows users to easily switch between data service providers — Â with caution, staking out a similar position to the one they held the last time Apple proposed such a solution.
Just one European carrier — Â The U.K.'s EE — Â has signed on to support the Apple SIM, and others look unlikely to follow suit in the near future. Spokespeople from popular European telcos Telefonica, Three, Orange, and Deutsche Telekom either declined to comment or echoed nearly the same sentiments in comments to the Wall Street Journal.
"We will be observing and assessing the markets' reactions to the Apple SIM, and draw further conclusions in due time," said an Orange spokesperson. "We will analyze how the Apple SIM fits into the price and product strategy in the weeks to come," a Telefonica representative said separately.
This is the second time that European telecom giants have opposed Apple's efforts in this area. The Cupertino company floated the idea of an embedded SIM for the iPhone in 2010, but shelved those plans after threats of a carrier revolt.
"The operators are accusing Apple of trying to gain control of their relationship with their mobile customers with the new SIM," the Financial Times reported at the time.
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34 Comments
Well I guess there are options. People can use the carrier who exists.
Them pesky Colonists trying to disrupt the Old Continent with their new fangled gewgaws shipped in from the Orient...
Typical Europe...
Since Orange is part of EE, I don't see why an Orange spokesperson would say that. EE (everything everywhere) was a merger between Orange and T-Mobile. It's the largest network in the UK in terms of coverage and subscribers. I'm sure O2 will announce support shortly, I reckon Apple didn't discuss it with all the networks beforehand, they just went to the biggest; all the networks are used to giving out SIMs and they'll be wondering whether Apple's model is good, bad or not really any different. At the end of the day, they'll have to do what Apple wants, but they'll be more worried about the iPhone than the iPad.
Carriers are really just like any utility. Once should be able to switch without buying new hardware, sims, etc.