In recent international iPhone news, announcements came this week that the UK based cellular service provider O2 will no longer have an exclusive arrangement within the UK to carry the iPhone. Orange, a competing service provider will debut the iPhone later this year, suggesting that the exclusive contracts made by Apple with service providers were not built to last like the products themselves.
Although this is the first case of an exclusive iPhone contract ending since the release of the device in 2007, it is of course no absolute proof that Apple’s contract with AT&T in the US will come to an end. It is a good sign, however, and perhaps the only real hope for those of us loyal to other carriers to see the iPhone any time soon.
The idea of multiple carriers for the iPhone would of course benefit the consumers, as the introduction of choice would force service providers to entice customers with special deals or a stronger network. Orange claims they are the largest service provider within the UK, so their introduction into the iPhone market will not only benefit Apple with increased sales on a large network, but also create competition with O2 to provide better and perhaps cheaper service to their customers.
Overall, I am hopeful that this will mean Apple is prepared to reevaluate their exclusive iPhone deals. Perhaps they will use the result of the UK’s example to determine if opening up to multiple carriers in the US would be beneficial to the company. In the end, the choice comes down to the question of how to give iPhone users the best experience while also creating profits for both the service provider and Apple itself, and it seems as though multiple carriers could be the answer.