February 27, 2008 at 3:34 am · Authored by Julia · Filed under iPhone

Since the iPhone was first announced, Australia has been asking ‘when are we going to get it?’ While the country is no closer to finding out the answer to that question, it has discovered that a deal tying the device to a single operator would be illegal under the Aussie Trade Practices Act, according to a group of legal researchers from Queensland.

“If Apple enter into an exclusive agreement with any particular carrier then it would be a matter for the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) as to whether that agreement was anticompetitive and contravened the trade practices act,” The Australian quotes one of the researchers as saying.

Does this mean Apple could be end of the lawsuit if it decides to launch Down Under? Possibly not, if the company uses the iPhone model of iPhone selling as a template for Australia. There, consumers can buy a handset locked to T-Mobile or they can buy an unlocked device, and pay through the nose for the privilege. I’d say it’s more than likely the same idea will be recycled when the iPhone finally does make an appearance in Oz.