So, what has Telstra officially said in response to all the iPhone 3G speculation? Well, getting an answer to confirm or deny that Telstra will sell the iPhone has, over the past few weeks and months, been impossible. Either those that knew wouldn't say one way or the other, and those that didn't know weren't not in a position to confirm or deny.

But today has been a day where Telstra's media spokespersons would likely have fielded many a question over Telstra's potential iPhone plans, and surprisingly, Telstra has issued a cryptic statement to iTWire that still doesn't confirm or deny a Telstra iPhone.

Instead, Telstra's statement leaves one wondering whether Telstra is poised to announce it too will offer the iPhone after all, sometime before July 11, or is set to go all out marketing an iPhone 'competitor/clone' be it from Samsung, HTC or some other manufacturer against the coming iPhone 3G onslaught.

Peter Taylor, a Telstra spokesperson, told iTWire that: "Telstra is the market leader in mobiles and we aim to stay that way - so while not commenting on the iPhone or our plans specifically - watch this space!"

So, curiouser and curiouser... Hopefully we won't have to wait until July 11 to get the details of voice and data plans from Vodafone and Optus. And hopefully we won't have to wait until July 11 to get confirmation as to whether Telstra and/or Three Mobile will also be selling the iPhone or not.

The speculation around pricing from Optus and Vodafone has already started hotting up, however. iTWire colleague Stephen Withers has suggested there could well be a $0 upfront iPhone 3G from Vodafone, neither Optus nor Vodafone have yet given much indication of just how close their prices will be to the publicly announced US pricing.

But given the fact that UK iPhone telco O2 is offering an "8GB iPhone 3G on £45 and £75 monthly tariffs [with no upfront payment], or a £99 [upfront payment] on O2's £35 tariff and new £30 tariff", according to Engadget Mobile, so a $0 upfront deal with Vodafone and/or Optus is certainly possible, given that O2 in the UK is definitely doing it .

Interestingly, O2's contract is only 18-months long, not the 24-months that AT&T requires in the US. In addition, O2's tariffs "include unlimited data and WiFi [at The Cloud and BT Openzone-equipped Wi-Fi venues such as coffee shops and more across the UK], Visual Voicemail, and reduced international roaming".

Please read on to page 2 for information on how the desire to jailbreak and unlock iPhones could be greatly reduced thanks to a new policy of in-store activation of all iPhone 3G models!