Orange Set to Carry iPhone in France

Rumors have had France Telecom's Orange network pegged as the iPhone carrier of choice in France for months, but now the deal appears to be sealed.

With iPhone carrier contracts settled in the United Kingdom and Germany, France became the next major European nation for Apple to scratch off its list on Thursday, when France Telecom’s Orange network announced it would become the exclusive iPhone carrier in the country.

According to Reuters, CEO Didier Lombard broke the news at an industry conference in Vietnam, confirming rumors that have been swirling over carrier selection for months. Deutsche Telekom will be the sole carrier for iPhones in Germany, and O2 in the United Kingdom. Both networks will get the phones on November 9, but Orange has not announced when it will land in France. The 8GB version of the phone will go for £269 on top of a contract in the UK, but Apple hasn’t yet released pricing in other countries. Directly converting the British price to Euros would place it around €386.

The price of the 8GB iPhone in the US recently plummeted from $599 to $399. After a strong reaction from early adopters who saw the value of their devices drop hundreds of dollars just months after they buying them, Apple offered a $100 rebate in store credit to compensate.