Singtel has made an announcement that it will sell the iPhone on Aug 22.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNew...ory_267146.html



To answer some of your queries, no the iPhone will definitely not be locked to a particular telco (this is in line with regulations set by IDA). At most Singtel will 'lock' you in a 1 or 2 years contract.

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Singapore Telcos In Race For Exclusive Rights To Apple iPhone

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They see handset drawing hordes of subscribers

(SINGAPORE) With a major barrier for switching telcos to be lifted within the next six months, local mobile operators are now jostling for exclusive rights to sell Apple's coveted iPhone in a race to turn the subscriber tide in their favour come 2008.

All three telcos - SingTel, StarHub and M1 - have held talks with California-based Apple Inc on the possibility of bringing its newfangled handset to Singapore months before it is scheduled to hit retail shelves across the region.

Although Apple has yet to firm up a local launch date, it did previously commit to introducing the iPhone in Asia sometime in 2008 and is widely-expected to choose only one operator to work with in each market.

SingTel is believed to have submitted a proposal to Apple earlier this year, and a company spokeswoman said that talks are 'still ongoing'. Not to be outdone, StarHub and M1 both said they were having similar discussions.

With its full touch-screen interface, music functions, sexy design and host of add-on applications, the iPhone has already won over a million fans in the United States since it debuted with much fanfare in June this year.

With subsequent launches in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and its impending arrival in Asia, Apple is hoping to sell 10 million units of its flagship phone by the end of 2008.

Its immense popularity has already spawned a huge grey market for the product locally, with gadget-crazed Singaporeans typically paying over a thousand dollars to be among the first to own the device.

However, with Apple threatening legal action against unauthorised resellers here, coupled with the introduction of a software upgrade which makes it harder for parallel importers to use the handset outside its intended market, the iPhone has become somewhat of a scarce local commodity.

Against this backdrop, industry observers believe the ability to get Apple to put pen to paper on an exclusive pact here could win over legions of subscribers and help an operator like SingTel cement its lead or lift third-placed M1 up the pecking order against its larger rivals.
And with the Infocomm Development Authority's (IDA) mandate for so-called true number portability coming into effect in the second quarter of 2008, the outcome of the iPhone negotiations becomes even more significant.

This is because the telecommunications regulator has decided to use a new centralised database system to allow consumers to easily retain their mobile numbers when switching operators. Once in place, consumers will no longer need to use the current call-forwarding regime and get a second number, a scenario that is expected to shake up the mobile market and result in more intense competition to hang on to existing subscriber dollars.

'Operators around the world are falling over themselves to work with Apple because of the iPhone's potential to win customers from immediate rivals and drive mobile data usage,' said Aloysius Choong, a senior market analyst with technology research firm IDC Asia-Pacific. 'Any exclusive arrangement will be especially disruptive next year with full number portability expected in Singapore.'

Thus far, exclusive iPhone agreements have been inked with AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK, T-Mobile in Germany and Orange Wireless in France, with these telcos caving in to Apple's unheard-of demand for a share of subscriber revenue.

In Asia, the gadget giant is already negotiating with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo in Japan and if its track record of working with top operators continues, SingTel could be the frontrunner in the local leg of the iPhone dealership race.

Although the IDA has sanctioned such exclusive product deals, the winning Singapore telco will likely be required to sell the iPhone in an 'unlocked' state.

In the US, the handset only works with AT&T's cellular network through the use of SIM-locking technology but this approach has sparked much legal fracas in other launch markets.

Authorities in France have recently forced Orange to unlock the iphone while German operator Vodafone tried unsuccessfully to get local courts to do the same.

However, the IDA has taken a clear position on this issue.

'IDA has prohibited the SIM-locking of handsets to remove a barrier for end users to switch operators, and to allow end users the freedom to choose among the operators offering various innovative and competitive mobile services. This policy has been in place since the start of mobile competition in 1997,' an IDA spokesperson said.

© Copyright Singapore Press Holdings 2007.

This post has been edited by juzernie: Aug 12 2008, 05:30 PM