Du stops pre-paid iPhone4 sales

Dubai: Telecom operator du has stopped the sales of pre-paid iPhone 4 packages in the UAE following an increase in cases of people unlocking the handsets and then selling them on the black-market, its chief commercial officer said.

Apple’s iPhone4 has created a strong demand in the market right from the day one when it was launched in September in Dubai.

"We have stopped the sale of iPhone4 on pre-paid lines in order to combat the sale of these smartphones on the black market, which is taking place as a result of certain individuals purchasing iPhone4 pre-paid packages from du sales points for less than Dh2100, and selling it abroad for a 50 to 80 per cent profit," Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, du, told Gulf News.

He said we became aware of this trend through our network technologies, which detected a number of iPhone4 smartphones that had been sold by us and yet were inactive within the country.

Also, we received information from abroad that smartphones sold by du are actually operating in neighbouring countries.

The phone, which are subsidised by the company, will now only be sold with a contract, halting all pay-as-you-go plans.