Today’s U.S. release of the iPhone is probably the biggest mobile phone event of the year. But who will have the rights for the iPhone when it appearsin Europe later this year? According to many, the frontrunner is Vodafone, one of the continent’s major mobile networks, which is close to inking a dealwith Apple. Sources have said only final details remain to be ironed out, including whether Apple will require a minimum sales guarantee, and any subsidiesinvolved in the deal. In the U.S., the iPhone will operate on both AT&T’s Edge data network as well as Wi-Fi networks. In Europe, however, 3G is almost everywhere, and offers muchfaster data speeds, so it’s expected the iPhone would be configured for that. It would be a strong boost for Vodafone, who lost $11 billion last year. Although no date has been set forthe phone’s European release, it’s expected to be before the end of the year. However, the price of the device could create problems, since consumers in Europe tend to spend a lot less onsets. But with 200 million customers across Europe, Vodafone is a dominant player in the market, and it seems set to edge out Orange and Deutsche Telekom.
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