New German iPhone carrier

Germany will be the next country to break away from having a single iPhone carrier, Der Spiegel reports. Since 2007, the device has only been carried in the country by T-Mobile, a division of Deutsche Telekom. The company has benefited from a regional exclusivity deal with Apple, similar to that signed by all carriers involved in selling the original hardware. Debut countries also included the US, UK and France.

Apple began courting multiple carriers per region with the launch of the iPhone 3G, however, and the trend is expected to continue and expand with the 3G S. Sources say the next carrier to gain the iPhone will be the German branch of O2, a division of Telefónica. The company may in fact be able to sell the 3G and 3G S as soon as November, when T-Mobile's exclusivity is scheduled to expire. Potential prices and subscription rates are unknown.

by MacNN Staff