Kevin Bostic
Apple's policy of limiting operation of the iPhone 5 with certain Hong Kong carriers is under fire, as one carrier has filed court documents contesting the practice, claiming that consumers may be surprised to find that "their choice of mobile service provider [is] dictated by Apple."
Apple's iPhone 5 is currently compatible with the 4G networks of only three mobile providers in Hong Kong: SmarTone Telecommunications, CSL Ltd., and Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong. The device can connect to other networks, but users on those networks, according to South China Morning Post, are restricted to using 3G connections.
Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) has filed a complaint over this policy, taking the issue before a court since the relevant regulatory body — the Communications Authority — has refused to investigate the issue. HKT claims in its suit that it has lost "hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars" due to Apple's SIM-locking policies for the iPhone 5, iPad, and iPad mini.
The carrier is asking for the court to order the Authority to reconsider HKT's complaint and to issue a directive to Apple to remove the SIM-lock. Doing so, HKT argues, would not harm Apple, but would result in further sales for the company.
HKT originally filed a complaint with the Communications Authority in September of last year, about a week after the launch of the iPhone 5. The Authority, though, has stated that it may not have jurisdiction over Apple in the matter.
"The SIM-locking is causing significant harm to customers, to the competitive process," The Wall Street Journal quotes HKT representatives as saying. "Customers are confused... and they are, quite wrongly, blaming HKT for the inability to access its 4G/LTE network on the iPhone 5 when this is entirely because of anti-competitive conduct engaged in by Apple."
Documents filed by the Hong Kong carrier claim that the SIM-locking policy has the potential to harm consumers who are not aware of their devices' limitations. These consumers would later "find that they were having their choice of mobile service provider dictated (or limited) by Apple."
Wesley Hilliard
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"The SIM-locking is causing significant harm to customers, to the competitive process," The Wall Street Journal quotes HKT representatives as saying. "Customers are confused... and they are, quite wrongly, blaming HKT for the inability to access its 4G/LTE network on the iPhone 5 when this is entirely because of anti-competitive conduct engaged in by Apple." Sounds like the entire story is not being told here. Is there a technical/compatibility issue with HKT's 4G/LTE network not working with the iP5? Or is it simply the whining of a carrier that is upset about the iP5 not officially being officially on its network? Can someone shed some light on this?
How I wish to amend the title to "United States"…
A simlock or netlock locks a device to a carrier, not a particular communication standard. If the iPhone 5 does work on HKT's network in 3G mode, then it is not locked. Now, if the incompatibility is due to HKT using an unsupported frequency, or due to missing carrier profiles in the iPhone software... According to Wikipedia, HKT uses the same frequency and bands as the networks supported by the iPhone. If this is true, there seems to be missing support in the iPhone's software and the claim may have some validity.
The reason why this is big news in Hong Kong is that sim locking, or any restrictive phone practice, is unknown in Hong Kong. It is probably illegal as well. They will almost certainly win this as it seems to be againt the Consumer Authorities rules. Apple has tried to sneak this in and they are going to suffer for it.
Have they not got the wrong end of the stick? In the UK the current iPhone 5 has only limited LTE compatibility and also will never ever work on much of the upcoming LTE networks.