Hutchison Telecom has become the latest international mobile operator to ink a deal with Apple to distribute the company’s now-famous iPhone: according to the South China Morning Post, it will be offering the iPhone to the city of Macao as early as next quarter.
The company joins a parade of similar announcements from mobile operators around the world, all of which have been characterized by their brevity and complete lack of detail as to what iPhone would be offered (the current 2G model or the 3G model widely expected to be unveiled in early June), or what sorts of service plans and pricing would be available. Some mobile operators are landing non-exclusive deals, meaning they may be competing with other mobile providers in their markets who can also offer the iPhone.
The newspaper says several mobile operators in Hong Kong were expected to launch similar partnerships with Apple in regard to the 3G iPhone, but offered no further details. Earlier this year, talks between Apple and China Mobile—the world’s largest mobile operator—broke down over revenue sharing and technical issues. Earlier this year, research firm In-Stat reported some 400,000 unlocked iPhones were already operating on China Mobile.
