Recently it was announced that both O2 in the UK and Rogers in Canada would lose their exclusivity around sales of the iPhone. So Orange, Vodafone in the UK and Telus and Bell in Canada will all have the right to sell the iPhone in their respective markets. My guess is that we’ll see the same thing happen in the US in the next year as well as Apple tries to break away from the AT&T exclusivity in the US.
AT&T, O2 and Rogers had a chance to really capture some serious market share for the longer term if they had priced and serviced iPhone users well. Instead, I believe, we’ll see a mass migration of users from one network to the others offering the device. As well, I believe we’ll see a heated battle over pricing of the devices and usage.
AT&T, O2 and Rogers went to maximise revenues over the 2 or so years that they’ve had exclusive rights to sell the device. But with markets tanking they should have worked hard to secure market share instead. Users are less likely to switch if the service is great and if the prices are reasonable.
The big winner in the new announcement is… me and you. Knowing that when we return to the UK that there will be competition around the device both the Bee and I want is a great thought.
