True Move called for an investigation Friday into claims by a consumer group that the company's sales of the Apple iPhone violated the law and exploited consumers.
The country's third largest mobile operator--and the only one to officially import the iPhone--asked the National Telecommunications Commission to look into the claims.
It was responding to allegations made by a group called the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Institute (TCI) about True Move's launch and distribution of the popular iPhone 3G at Siam Paragon on Jan. 16.
True Move said it was appointed by Apple to be the official distributor of its iPhone 3G in the country. It said that a large number of smuggled iPhones were sold in the country while the company imported the phones through legal channels, but the group accused the company of exploiting people and violating the law. This was unfair, the company said.
Statements in the media by TCI members damaged the company's image and its business by confusing people and eroding their faith in its service and phones, True Move said.
The company said the claim that it forced iPhone purchasers to use its services was untrue because people can buy iPhones for use with other operators.
It said that it offered promotional packages for the phones because the iPhone 3G was designed to accommodate voice and data communication.
But it said the company did not want smuggled iPhones to be used with its network because it believes in corporate governance and because smuggling evades taxes.
Play video
There are currently no comments for this post.