Tesco to launch iPhone on December 14
Tesco Mobile has confirmed it will launch iPhone in the UK on December 14, in time for Christmas.
The supermarket giant says the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS will be available to Tesco customers from just £20 a month, the lowest monthly contract price in the UK market.
Tesco Mobile will also break traditional 18 and 24 month contracts by offering it on a 12 month contract in the UK, though the phone will not be offered free on this basis. Customers will have to pay £60 a month to receive the handset for free on a 24-month basis.
Lance Batchelor, chief executive officer of Tesco Mobile and Tesco Telecoms, says:
“iPhone is now available and affordable for all, with the best deals in the UK market. This is a fantastic announcement for us and we’re delighted to make iPhone available to our customers. It shows what a serious player in the mobile market Tesco Mobile has become.”
Tesco says that with 42 million shopping visitors a week in Tesco stores, it expects consumer demand to be extremely high. The phone will be available in Tesco Phone Shops and from the very popular Tesco Direct website.
The supermarket announced it was to sell the iPhone last month.
O2 lost its UK exclusivity to the iPhone this year and Orange and Vodafone immediately revealed plans to launch the handset. Orange launched the phone the day after the exclusivity ended while Vodafone is waiting till the new year for its launch.
