Three major Russian mobile phone providers drop the iPhone

[RaduTyrsina]

Russian iPhone lovers, we have bad news for you! As we have previously reported, Apple is starting to lose ground in the European market and today’s report proves it even better. According to the recent information, three major Russian carriers have halted the selling of iPhones.

The mobile phone operators in question - MTS, Megafon and VimpelCom - have terminated the contracts they have signed with Apple. VimpelCom ended the partnership with the American tech giant this very month, after avid negotiations during which the Russian carrier would not give in and maintained that it was not making any profit off the devices.​​

MTS’s contract has expired this month, but sources familiar with the situation explained that the company is still negotiating with Apple over the iPhone sales matter. As for Megafon, the contract is no longer in place, and there’s no apparent hope of it being revived.

The three mobile phone operators cover four-fifths of the total Russian market, so it’s a huge loss for Apple. But what exactly is happening here? Is it that Russians don’t fancy iPhones? Not buy a long shot. It turns out that Russian consumers are disadvantaged because the country doesn’t allow subsidies for smartphones, thus making them very expensive for the average citizen.

However, all is not lost for Apple. The company can still sell iPhones in the country in its own retail shops or through different carriers.

Over time, Apple has received a lot of complaints from its carriers due to the alleged formidable demands it poses on its partners. To give an example, usually device producers pay for their advertising and marketing campaigns but when working with Apple, the operator has to cover all the expenses in this domain.

Source: Reuters

 

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