Apple to sell iPhone in several new markets

29 May 2008

Apple is looking to sell the iPhone in a big way by entering into deals with telecommunications companies throughout the world. After initiating the biggest international rollout ever with its tie-ups in India with Vodafone and Airtel, the software and consumer electronics major has signed deals to introduce its iconic product in Nordic and Baltic states. (See: After Vodafone, Apple ropes in Airtel to launch iPhones in India and iPhone to be marketed in India ... legally)

Swedish telecommunications company TeliaSonera AB recently added its name to the list of mobile carriers set to sell the iPhone this year. In a brief statement issued on Tuesday, TeliaSonera said it had inked a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia "later this year." Financial terms of the distributioon arrangement have not been disclosed.

Apple confirmed the arrangement.

TeliaSonera, Sweden's largest telecommunications firm, boasts more than 100 million mobile subscribers, primarily in its home country and neighboring Norway and Finland; it also operates in Denmark, the three Baltic countries, and Spain.

In the Netherlands, Royal KPN NV said it is talking with Apple about obtaining rights to market iPhones to its Dutch subscribers. Also, Apple is also reportedly trying to enter the highly competitive Japanese market with the iPhone, albeit a higher-end 3G version.

For consumers interested in surfing the Internet, the current iPhones have been something of a disappointment because they haven't been able to take advantage of the faster 3G networks. That is expected to change during the week of 9 June when Apple announces its new iPhone models, including at least one 3G version, at its worldwide developers conference in San Francisco.

An iPhone with high-speed 3G capabilities is almost mandatory if Apple hopes to crack the tough market in Japan, where many consumers already are accustomed to surfing the Internet at 3G speeds; Japanese mobile phone subscribers make up the majority of the world's mobile Internet users.