14 DAY TRIAL // O2's exclusivity over the iPhone has made the headlines quite a few times lately, as more carriers in the UK have been reported to be interested in offering the Apple device to their customers, and it seems that this will soon become a thing of the past. To be more precise, the exclusivity is expected to end on October 9, which means that T-Mobile, Orange and Vodafone will be free to jump on the iPhone in about two months from now.
Rumors regarding the early ending of O2's exclusivity have cycled before, yet this time things seem to be closer to reality than ever. Mobile Entertainment had the chance to take a look at certain documents and apparently October 9 is the ending day of the exclusivity deal. According to the site, O2 will still be able to sell the iPhone for three more years, yet it had exclusivity only for two years out of five.
This basically means that other carriers in the country already interested in the iPhone will have the chance to offer the device to their subscribers as well. Unfortunately there are no details on which flavors of the iPhone will not be exclusively available through O2, and there are great chances that the operator will keep the newly launched iPhone 3GS for itself. Even so, iPhone 3G will be up for grabs, so expect for announcements regarding its availability to come from more carriers in the UK soon.
As many of you might already know, Orange already sells the iPhone in a series of markets in Europe, while T-Mobile has it in Germany, so it's quite understandable why they would want it in the UK as well. For the time being, no official word on the ending of O2's exclusivity has been said, though a spokesperson for the carrier stated, “All I can say is that O2 has a multi-year exclusive on iPhone - and that this remains in place.”