14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless carrier Vodafone UK announced not too long ago that it will start selling the Apple iPhone to its subscribers as soon as January 14 is here, and now the company has also unveiled the list of its retail partners that will also distribute the device in the country. There are 20 dealers that Vodafone has selected to start selling the iPhone come January 14, and users will be able to get the device with a Vodafone contract either via them or via carrier's direct channels.
The list of 20 iPhone retailers selected by the mobile phone operator also shows that there are 10 'premier partner' dealers, which will get customers directly to Vodafone's airwaves, as well as 10 'gold partner' dealers, which will connect them through the carrier's subsidiary Yes Telecom. As mobilenewscwp.co.uk points out, Vodafone becomes this way the first operator in the country to have the iPhone launched both via direct and indirect channels at the same time.
The list of Vodafone's premier partners includes: CBS Comms Centre (Cambridge), Cellular Solutions & Services (Brighton), CCS Mobile (Newcastle), Excalibur Communications (Swindon), Garnell Corporate Comms (London), Grapevine (Poole, Bath), Premier Telecom (Fareham), The General Telephone Co (Salisbury, Yeovil, Bath), The Word Direct (Cardiff), and Totel (Derby).
The 10 Yes Telecom gold partners are: Active Telecom (Northumberland), Fone Solutions (Newcastle), JHL Communications (Glasgow), Olive (London), Premier Mobile (London), Pure Mobile (Northampton), Redsquid (Borehamwood), Sprint Communications (Basildon), Totility (Croydon), and Wish Communications (Northampton).
Alex Windle, Vodafone UK head of indirect marketing, said that, when selecting the retailers, the wireless carrier had taken into consideration their size and the market share they enjoyed, as well as geography and experience. UK users can already pre-order the Apple iPhone from the carrier, and will be able to purchase it via Vodafone's direct retail, telesales and web sales channels starting with January 14, as well as via third parties.
“We are the first to launch the Apple iPhone through all our sales channels at once. We are the leading UK network in the enterprise market, and Apple has put a major focus here. Our dealer partners are essential to our strategy in this sector,” Windle stated. “We have selected this first wave of dealers and are working with Apple now on the second wave of partners to make the iPhone available through. We want everyone to have easy access to the iPhone. We will work through the accreditation process as quickly and thoroughly as possible.”