A French appeals court has thrown out France Telecom’s attempt to restore its exclusive rights to the iPhone, upholding a December ruling handed down by competition regulators.

France Telecom’s wireless carrier Orange signed a five-year deal with Apple to carry the iPhone 3G, leading rival mobile phone service provider Bouygues Telecom to file a complaint last September joined by its fellow competitors.

On Dec. 17 the Competition Council sided with Bouygues, saying the deal risked “serious and immediate damage” to competition because of its “excessive” length and that all future iPhone agreements would be capped at a maximum of 3 months. Both Apple and Orange appealed.

However, the appeals court has denied the two partners in today’s ruling, available in this French-language PDF. France Telecom told Reuters it plans to file another appeal with the Cour de Cassation, the highest court in France.

Bouygues Telecom, which is the No. 3 mobile operator in the European country, welcomed the ruling and indicated company officials are already engaged in negotiations with Apple to sell iPhones linked to its own network.

This is a good thing; competition is almost always good for customers at large.