The last bastion of European iPhone exclusivity looks set to crumble if reports prove correct that T-Mobile Germany will accept new distribution terms being offered by Apple.
Vodafone and O2 look positioned to become resellers of the iPhone with negotiations said to be at an advanced stage to allow both operators to distribute the handset in Germany in time for the Christmas sales period.
T-Mobile Germany is said to have benefited significantly from this extended iPhone exclusivity deal, signed in November 2007. In the company's last quarter, T-Mobile Germany's mobile revenue in its home market rose over 6 per cent year-to-year against a 0.2 per cent increase at Vodafone.
Despite this performance, the German operator is rumoured to have become disillusioned with Apple over extended delays and shortages relating to the iPhone 4. A T-Mobile exec stated that German consumers were waiting nine weeks for the new Apple handset.
Germany is the last major European market in which one operator has exclusive rights to sell the iPhone. O2 UK and Orange France both lost their exclusivity deals last year.
For more on this story:
- read Total Telecom
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