No iPhone deal, says O2

Stephen Withers
Friday, 06 July 2007 02:36

Your IT - Mobility

O2 has denied reports that it has signed a deal to be the iPhone's exclusive carrier in the UK.

Bloomberg quotes a spokesperson for the Telefonica subsidiary as saying "No deal has been signed with Apple."

Apple reiterated its previous statement that the iPhone will go on sale in Europe by the end of 2007, but declined to comment on possible UK network partners.

Even though nothing has been signed, it is quite possible that the two companies are on the verge of an agreement. Indeed, the Financial Times story  that sparked this wave of coverage did not claim that the deal was done, only that "O2 is set to be the first European mobile operator to reach a deal with Apple". That hasn't stopped other headlines suggesting things are signed and sealed.

Online mobile phone retailer mobiles.co.uk is having an each-way bet: its web site shows the iPhone as "Coming Soon on Vodafone" and "Coming Soon on O2".

And Guy Kewney, who has probably been reporting on IT and telecommunications in the UK for longer than anyone else, still reckons Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) are going to get the gig in Europe. His explanation - one that he hints originated at Vodafone HQ - for the O2 rumour is that Carphone Warehouse is in on the retail side of the deal, and that company has a virtual network provided by O2. Taking that as an indication the O2 will get the iPhone was a faulty jump in reasoning, he implies.

The Vodafone/T-Mobile theory is given credence by the fact that the iPhone's software includes logos for those two companies as well as AT&T. But then the Cingular logo is still present.

Interestingly, Kewney is still tipping a 3G iPhone for Europe. Production capacity for the EDGE model will be devoted to the US market, and the European operators have plenty of 3G (but not 2.5G) capacity, he says. So "Expect European stocks after the New Year, and expect them to be 3G", according to Kewney.