Reading the news this morning it looks like O2 are about the sign on as Apple’s UK partner for the iPhone possibly suggesting that I wouldn’t have to switch operator if the same were to happen in Ireland. The BBC and Washington Post are reporting that O2 have beaten Vodafone to the punch and that O2 should have the iPhone for sale before Christmas. One interesting fact is that Apple are said to enjoy a continuous revenue share from O2 based on income raised from the sale of and continuous use of the iPhone on the O2 network.
I have been watching this for the past few days. Until yesterday, everyone thought Vodafone was a lock, perhaps for most/all of Europe. However, the earlier rumor/news about T-mobile getting the contract for Germany along with this latest rumor/news about O2 suggests Vodafone, whose biggest strength was the breadth of their subscriber base across Europe.
It also suggests that Apple’s European carrier strategy is similar to their US carrier strategy of partnering with someone they can exert more leverage over, which gives them more strength in negotiations to extract things like a share of services revenue. Given Vodafone’s reach, they might have thought they had more leverage with Apple than they apparently did.
More updates and analysis on my blog, for anyone who is interested.