14 DAY TRIAL // Vodafone is the fourth wireless carrier in the UK which will have the iPhone available for its users, following the already availability of the device via O2 (which had it exclusively for a couple of years), Orange UK and Tesco Mobile (a joint-venture between O2 and the supermarket giant Tesco). According to the latest news around the Internet, the mobile phone operator will put the Apple device on sale starting with January 14, roughly three weeks from now on.
Vodafone joins the party as the last major carrier in the UK to launch the iPhone on its airwaves, and it seems that it might come up with offering that will challenge the already existing ones. One of them would be the unlimited Wi-Fi use, something already available from O2 too, but not from Orange, which has a limited data offering, in which connections to the Internet via BT Open-Zone Wi-Fi are also included.
“The cheapest tariff available is £30 a month for 24 months, plus additional handset charges ranging from £59 (iPhone 3G 8GB) to £239 (3GS 32GB). Both business and consumer contracts are subject to a 1GB monthly data limit on mobile Internet use. Orange has a 'fair use' limit of 750MB per month,” reports BBC News.
According to the news site, while O2's and Orange's lowest tariffs are of £34.26 and £29.36 respectively, with the signing of a 24-month contract agreement, Vodafone will have a £35 a month contract available for its users. The best part on all these offerings is a free iPhone on all carriers, it seems. At the same time, BBC News also notes that, according to Guy Laurence, chief executive of Vodafone UK, the carrier has been preparing for more than a year for the launch of the iPhone.
“There are concerns that mobile networks globally are struggling to cope with demand as more consumers choose internet-enabled smartphones and mobile dongles over fixed broadband deals,” notes BBC News. Some of you might already be familiar with AT&T's problems when it comes to the great amount of data traffic its US iPhone users generate, and might have learned that Verizon, another US carrier, is also getting ready to launch the iPhone on its airwaves.