Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories?
X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

O2 to lose exclusive iPhone deal in October

Reports are reaching us that O2's exclusive deal with O2 is coming to an end in early October. So what are the options?

richard-trenholm-square.jpg
richard-trenholm-square.jpg
Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
This advertising widget is powered by Navi and contains advertisements that Navi may be paid for in different ways. You will not be charged for engaging with this advertisement. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, this advertising widget does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information in the featured advertisements is up to date, each advertiser featured in this widget is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its offer details. It is possible that your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms in this advertising widget and the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser which will be presented to you prior to making a purchase. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

Reports are emerging that O2's exclusive deal on the Apple iPhone will end on 9 October.

Mobile Entertainment claims to have seen documentation that marks the end of the deal on the iPhone, although O2 will continue to be the only provider to carry the iPhone 3GS.

O2 may have shot itself in the foot with recent comments blaming the high price of the 3GS on the Cupertino-based manufacturer. T-Mobile is already offering the iPhone 3G to power customers as a retention option, according to The Register. Meanwhile, Orange shop staff are telling customers that according to an internal magazine they'll be selling it soon -- but that's according to one Craver's mate's father-in-law, and he also claims he went to school with Elvis and once beat Pelé at table football.

The UK is not the only country to have an exclusive deal on the iPhone. In the States, dissatisfaction with AT&T has seen one high-profile casualty, a wave of bile on Twitter and an FCC investigation.

If you're an Orange customer and you fancy an iPhone but have resisted O2 up to now, it might be the perfect time to leg it from your contract in readiness. And whatever the provider options turn out to be, don't forget the secret one-month contract we revealed last month.