Czech Carrier Dumps iPhone Over Apple's 'Business Terms'

o2 logoBloomberg briefly reports that Czech carrier Telefonica/O2 has apparently announced that it will cease selling all iPhone models, objecting to Apple's "business terms".

Telefonica Czech Republic AS won’t sell Apple’s new iPhone 4S and will end sales of all Apple’s models because of Apple’s business terms, Hospodarske Noviny reported, citing Telefonica’s local spokesman Hany Farghali.

No additional details on the reasons behind the fall-out have been made available in the Bloomberg report, and the original report from the Czech newspaper does not yet appear to be available online.

Dow Jones Newswires reported last week that Telefonica Czech Republic AS and Apple were still trying to reach a deal for the iPhone 4S, talks that have apparently ended without an agreement being reached.

"We haven't agreed with Apple on mutually acceptable conditions yet," Hany Farghali told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview.

...

Telefonica Czech, majority owned by Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF), is unlikely to add the iPhone 4S model to its pre-holiday offering, said a person familiar with the local mobile market who asked to remain anonymous.

Instead, the company will focus on already much higher volume sales of smart phones based on rival operating systems, including Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android and Nokia Corp.'s (NOK) Symbian.

Telefonica is not the only iPhone carrier in the Czech Republic, as both Vodafone and T-Mobile are also offering the device through their Czech units. Consequently, customers looking to obtain the iPhone in the country will still have options, but Telefonica's departure is an interesting one given the efforts other carriers around the world are making to win the right to offer the device.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
ios 26 1 liquid glass opaque

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
maxresdefault

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...

Top Rated Comments

acidfast7 Avatar
182 months ago
LOL, when will Americans realize that one doesn't need an operator to have an iP4s outside of the US (unlike in the Us where one can't really get a prepaid uSIM card from any major carrier).

Most people will just buy an unlocked/unbranded/unsubsidized iP4s directly from Apple and drop in any prepaid uSIM that they want to use from any carrier.

Why is this even news?

Their loss. iPhone demand is exploding. The Christmas quarter will bear this out. Those wanting one will simply look elsewhere.
I don't know, I see many more Samsung Galaxy S2s than I do iP3/4s. I also see many people wanting and willing to pay for 4G/LTE.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
182 months ago
This story does not Czech out.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Atlantico Avatar
182 months ago
Their loss.
Since Czech O2 calculated that the iPhone demand didn't cover the cost of subsidising the thing, it's actually their gain.

Czech O2 makes more money by not supporting the iPhone, otherwise they wouldn't have dropped it. :cool:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
voonyx Avatar
182 months ago
It appears O2 has altered the deal. Pray they don't alter it any further.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oletros Avatar
182 months ago
Telefonica and Apple didn't agree about conditions so the former won't sell the iPhone. Where's the problem?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
acidfast7 Avatar
182 months ago
What are you smoking, there are iPhone's everywhere in Stockholm.

I actually see a larger portion of the NOKIA N-series and E-series than I've seen anywhere else in the world. I also see a fair amount of SE smartphones as well.

I see more iP3/4 in Stockholm than Frankfurt (split time living in both places), but it's still much less than what I see in the US (grew up in the states and travel back almost monthly.) It baffles my mind, when the contracts are so expensive in the US as well (roughly 2000/2 years).

Smartphone usage in Europe is much more diverse than in the states.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)