MUMBAI – India's antitrust agency has received a complaint against Apple Inc. requesting that the body look into whether the U.S. smartphone maker violated local competition laws when selling its popular iPhone 4 smartphone to select mobile phone operators, a senior official at the country's Competition Commission said.
The official said the agency may examine the complaint but added it is not necessary for the commission to act on the complaint if no violation was found.
"We may examine the complaint to see if it [Apple] is violating any law," the official said, declining to say where the complaint came from or to provide further details.
Under India's Competition Act of 2002, the country bars agreements that are "likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India."
Apple officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company launched the iPhone 4 in May in India through tie-ups with two Indian mobile phone operators, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Aircel Ltd. Both started selling the iPhone 4 from May 27 to take better advantaged of the recently acquired third-generation wireless spectrum. Five other Indian mobile phone operators also won 3G radio bandwidth last year.
With 167.1 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel is India's largest mobile phone operator. The company also has India's largest number of 3G users, which totaled around 2 million at the end of April. Aircel, a relatively new but fast-growing operator, had 57.1 million users at the end of May. Aircel has not made its number of 3G users public.
It is unclear what steps the agency could ask Apple to take should it find that the company has violated competition laws.
"The first test of whether Apple violates the Competition Act will essentially be if it adversely affects public interest," Akil Hirani, a managing partner at law firm Majmudar & Co., said. He said the agency could ask Apple to broaden the scope of its distribution to more operators to make its products more accessible.
Gaurang Kanth, a managing partner at legal firm Kanth & Associates, said the agency could also request Apple to cease its existing contracts with Bharti and Aircel.
In India, Apple has previously tied up with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar Ltd., a unit of Vodafone Group PLC, to sell earlier versions of Apple's smartphone, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS. No complaint was filed against the U.S. company at that time, the official said. In other markets in Asia, Apple typically works with one exclusive carrier.
With nearly 827 million subscribers, India is the world's second-largest mobile phone market after China. Mobile phone makers in India rarely sell through phone companies as Indian operators do not subsidize handsets since costumers lack strong credit history and accountability. Companies like Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB sell in India through retailers and rarely partner up with phone companies to bundle data or other offers.
India's CyberMedia Research said in a recent note that it expects 12 million smartphones will be sold in India this year, nearly double the amount sold in 2010. Smartphones are expected to account for 5.7% of total mobile handset sales in India this year, compared with 3.6% last year, the firm said.
The official said the agency may examine the complaint but added it is not necessary for the commission to act on the complaint if no violation was found.
"We may examine the complaint to see if it [Apple] is violating any law," the official said, declining to say where the complaint came from or to provide further details.
Under India's Competition Act of 2002, the country bars agreements that are "likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India."
Apple officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company launched the iPhone 4 in May in India through tie-ups with two Indian mobile phone operators, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Aircel Ltd. Both started selling the iPhone 4 from May 27 to take better advantaged of the recently acquired third-generation wireless spectrum. Five other Indian mobile phone operators also won 3G radio bandwidth last year.
With 167.1 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel is India's largest mobile phone operator. The company also has India's largest number of 3G users, which totaled around 2 million at the end of April. Aircel, a relatively new but fast-growing operator, had 57.1 million users at the end of May. Aircel has not made its number of 3G users public.
It is unclear what steps the agency could ask Apple to take should it find that the company has violated competition laws.
"The first test of whether Apple violates the Competition Act will essentially be if it adversely affects public interest," Akil Hirani, a managing partner at law firm Majmudar & Co., said. He said the agency could ask Apple to broaden the scope of its distribution to more operators to make its products more accessible.
Gaurang Kanth, a managing partner at legal firm Kanth & Associates, said the agency could also request Apple to cease its existing contracts with Bharti and Aircel.
In India, Apple has previously tied up with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar Ltd., a unit of Vodafone Group PLC, to sell earlier versions of Apple's smartphone, the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS. No complaint was filed against the U.S. company at that time, the official said. In other markets in Asia, Apple typically works with one exclusive carrier.
With nearly 827 million subscribers, India is the world's second-largest mobile phone market after China. Mobile phone makers in India rarely sell through phone companies as Indian operators do not subsidize handsets since costumers lack strong credit history and accountability. Companies like Nokia Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB sell in India through retailers and rarely partner up with phone companies to bundle data or other offers.
India's CyberMedia Research said in a recent note that it expects 12 million smartphones will be sold in India this year, nearly double the amount sold in 2010. Smartphones are expected to account for 5.7% of total mobile handset sales in India this year, compared with 3.6% last year, the firm said.
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