O2's exclusivity will be over later this year as pieces fall into place for Orange/T-Mo.
Orange UK has announced that it has secured a deal to sell Apple's iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in the UK from later this year.
The handsets will be sold in all Orange's direct retail channels, including its shops, online store and telesales outlets. It also says "selected high street partners" will be selling the device, although doesn't specify who.
The deal brings to an end O2's exclusive on the handsets, as predicted by ME last month, when we revealed that O2's exclusivity period ends officially on 6th October.
Orange hasn't announced when it will begin selling the iPhones, nor has it revealed price and tariff information, saying merely that this information will be released "in due course", while launching a pre-registration site.
Apple and Orange aren't strangers, of course: the operator already sells the iPhone in 27 other countries.
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However, it seems suggestions that the recently-announced merger between Orange UK and T-Mobile UK would co-incide with an iPhone deal were on the money.
