Orange has been announced as the exclusive carrier for France but due to French laws that ban phone companies from selling only locked phones, the iPhone will also be available in an unlocked version at a higher price which has yet to be announced.

US law states that any carrier subsidized phone must be unlocked for international travel at the consumer’s request after 90 days. AT&T and Apple have previously got away with not unlocking iPhones in the states after 90 days by saying that the iPhone is not subsidized by the carrier (AT&T) but how will this argument stack up when an unlocked version is available in France at a higher price? If the iPhone is not subsidized then why would an unlocked version cost more?