Price war to start as Voda grabs iPhone
VODAFONE said yesterday that it has sealed a deal to sell Apple’s iPhone in the UK, likely sparking a price war between the three biggest mobile networks.
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, said it will be able to sell the must-have device from early 2010, though it did not confirm an exact date. It will also sell the iPhone in Ireland.
The news followed France Telecom’s announcement on Monday that its Orange UK subsidiary will start selling the phone before the end of this year, breaking O2’s exclusive two-year hold on the phone.
“Now that O2’s monopoly has finally been toppled and with the iPhone now available on three different networks, we should be able to see a much more competitive market, which is only a good thing for consumers,” said Neil McHugh of comparison site Rightmobilephone.co.uk.
Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao recently said that the operator had been hurt in the UK by not securing the iPhone deal.
The news of both the Vodafone and the Orange deal will come as a huge blow to O2, which has benefited from securing the exclusive rights to sell the smartphone in the UK, and currently boasts 1m subscribers.
“We estimate that the iPhone represents more than 100 per cent of O2 UK’s growth, six per cent of subscribers, 14 per cent of service revenues and 13 per cent of earnings,” said Bernstein analyst Robin Bienenstock.
Analysts also speculated that other exclusive sales deals in Europe, such as in Spain, could also soon unwind.
The news failed to boost Vodafone’s share price, which lost 2.04 per cent to close at 141.5p, due to the fact that the operator will not be in a position to cash in on Christmas sales of the handset.