TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 29, 2009, 5:22 A.M. ET
Vodafone to Sell iPhone in U.K., Ireland
By LILLY VITOROVICH
LONDON -- Vodafone Group PLC said Tuesday it will sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in the U.K. from early next year, becoming the third operator to offer the iPhone in the country.
The announcement comes a day after France Télécom's Orange said it reached an agreement to sell the iPhone in the U.K. later this year, bringing to an end a two-year exclusive contract held by rival Telefónica SA's O2 mobile network.
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The key difference is that Vodafone will only start to sell the iPhone from early 2010, whereas the phone will be available on Orange's network before Christmas.
Pricing, tariffs and availability information will be announced locally in the future, Vodafone said in a brief statement. However, Vodafone customers in the U.K. and Ireland can register their interest in the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on its Web site now.
Vodafone already offers the iPhone through 13 of its operating companies.
O2's exclusive deal with Apple has helped the company to boost sales, customers and average revenue per user, and catapulted the operator ahead of rival Vodafone into first place as the largest mobile network in the U.K. by subscriber numbers.
Vodafone's announcement shows that iPhone exclusivity is rapidly coming to an end, said Evolution Securities analyst Mark James, who expects similar announcements over coming months in Spain and Germany.
"With exclusivity gone, it all boils down to price. We expect pressure on SAC's [subscriber acquisition costs] as the ability to gain market share through "iConic" products comes to an end," Mr. James said.
The iPhone's launch in 2007 heralded a new benchmark for touch-screen mobile phones and spawned an industry of applications from a host of vendors.
Apple said Monday that more than two billion applications had been downloaded from its App Store since it launched just over a year ago, and more than 85,000 online applications are now available.
Write to Lilly Vitorovich at lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com
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