In a break from the company’s usual exclusive partner model, both Vodafone and Telecom Italia will be offering Apple’s iPhone in Italy.
Apple gave no details as to why it broke from its single carrier per market model; Telecom Italia announced it “has signed a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Italy later this year,” and Vodafone announced it would offer the popular handset in 10 countries, including Italy. In a statement, Vodafone said: “Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network.”
Vodafone did not close a deal with Apple last year, when the company launched the handset in Great Britain, instead O2 is the exclusive iPhone carrier in the U.K.