O2 iPhone exclusivity to end on October 9th, according to leaked document

Posted by Al Warmington on Wed 5 Aug 2009

Choice: the new must-have iPhone feature

Rumours that O2 may lose its exclusive hold on Apple’s iPhone handsets have been flying thick and fast in recent months, but it looks like an official announcement could be just around the corner.

According to Mobile Entertainment, leaked ‘documentation’ states that O2’s deal is coming to a close on October 9^th. O2’s original deal was signed in 2007 and is believed to grant it the rights to sell the iPhone through to 2012.

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What isn’t known is how long the exclusivity part lasts – while O2 may be allowed to sell the iPhone for five years, that may not mean it is the only one allowed to do so for the full length of the agreement. The leaked source suggests that exclusivity is fixed only for two years, which makes October a plausible date for other networks to join the iPhone party.

It has also been heavily rumoured that while O2 may have to give up its rights to the iPhone 3G, it will hang on to the faster iPhone 3GS as an exclusive.

O2, for what it’s worth, has repeatedly stated that it has ongoing deal with Apple and a “multi-year exclusive on iPhone.” Not exactly an outright denial then, but with bad press surrounding O2’s network coverage, you’d hardly expect the network to freely admit that you’ll soon have another choice of where to sign up for an iPhone.

Orange and T-Mobile have been tipped as the networks most likely to pick up the handset. In fact, T-Mobile has reportedly been passing out limited numbers of iPhone handsets to its most valuable (high spending) and demanding (as in threatening leave) customers already, presumably ones sourced from its territories where it has agreements with Apple, similar to O2 in the UK.

This comes amidst increasing pressure on Apple to open up the handset to other networks, mainly originating in the US where disdain for AT&T is reaching fever pitch. The surging popularity of the handsets means that Apple surely doesn’t stand to lose out from wider availability. The only question, really, is what’s taking so long?

Link: Apple (via Mobile Entertainment)

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