The Rome-based daily newspaper La Repubblica is reporting (Italian) that Italy’s Telecom Italia has landed a non-exclusive deal to distribute so-far unannounced 3G iPhones in Italy. If true, it would mark the first time Apple has granted a non-exclusive license to sell the iPhone: current iPhone distribution deals have the handsets locked to a single carrier in individual markets, with Apple collecting a share of that operator’s iPhone traffic revenue.
Telecom Italia has consistently declined to comment on the report.
According to the La Repubblica report, the agreement doesn’t include a revenue-sharing arrangement, so the 3G iPhones sold through Telecom Italia would be offered at a higher price. The 3G iPhones would also use the European UMTS standard.
According to the paper, Telecom Italia was able to get the deal because its 3G technology is already deployed and operational, and the carrier already has twice as many 3G phone users as leading mobile operators in France, Span, and the UK.
