O2 to lose exclusive iPhone deal in October

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.