SlashGear

Apple and carrier Orange have announced that their exclusivity agreement in France has ended prematurely, after telecoms regulators decided the deal was “a new rigidity factor in a sector that already suffers from lack of competition.”  The news comes after a temporary injunction filed back in December 2008 – and later upheld in a review in February – following complaints from network rivals Bouygues Telecom and SFR.

The French exclusivity deal was apparently meant to last for five years; following the news, Orange parent France Telecom saw their share price dip 2-percent.  No other French carrier has yet announced plans to offer the iPhone, though we imagine they’re all clamoring for talks with Apple.

[via Twitter]