China Unicom's IPhone Policy Draws Attention From Gov't

From PC World: New contract rules at China Unicom meant to prevent Chinese iPhone 4 owners from reselling their phones have drawn the attention of the Chinese government, which has called on the network operator to respect consumers' rights.

China Unicom, the country's sole mobile carrier of Apple's iPhone 4, implemented the contract rules starting this month for new users who sign a contract to buy the device. If the iPhone 4 is found being used with a SIM card other than the one provided, China Unicom will shut down the user's phone number and "lock" the device, preventing it from operating.

China Unicom has taken the extreme measures as way to stop scalpers, who are signing contracts for the device only to resell it. But the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), has become involved by asking China's Consumers' Association to issue an opinion on the matter. The ministry has also demanded China Unicom "respect and protect the legitimate rights of telecommunication users, improve their service agreement and enhance service quality," according to state media reports.

The ministry was contacted on Friday afternoon about the comments, but would not elaborate any further. "We are currently trying to better understand the situation," said a ministry spokesman. China's Consumers' Association could also not be reached for comment.

The government's involvement comes as Apple continues to sell out of its iPhone 4 in the country. China Unicom has reported receiving more than 600,000 pre-orders for the device and has yet to meet the demand.

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