The biggest news yesterday was that Orange UK (mobile network) issued a statement that Apple and Orange had reached an agreement and Orange will begin offering the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the UK and related territories. This ends the exclusivity agreement that O2 has held since the launch in the UK. Orange have to date the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than other mobile operators.
This is something that was hinted at in the last month, but the new item is that they will be offering the 3GS. It was believed that O2 would still regain exclusivity over the 3GS being a new device.
This all makes sense now when you look at the big picture, as O2 have started looking at bringing the Palm Pre to the UK under yet another exclusivity contract. Whether O2 lost the exclusivity deal on the iPhone because of the Palm Pre, or whether O2 decided to expand it’s horizon when Apple told them they would lose their exclusivity deal on the iPhone is unsure. What this does do is spell good news for UK customers. The UK is a large mobile phone market and many prospective iPhone customers still will not migrate to O2, so this makes good news for Orange customers. Also with the recent news of the merger between O2 and T-Mobile, this ultimately opens the door for T-Mobile UK now to also sell iPhone’s in the near future.
More information on pricing, tariffs and availability dates on Orange will be announced at a later date.
More information can be found at Orange’s Website.
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