We’ve taken a pass on much of the 3G iPhone rumors floating around lately because, well, enough is enough. The latest one is of particular interest however. La Repubblica, a well-respected Italian newspaper, is reporting that the 3G iPhone is most certainly on its way to Italian carrier Telecom Italia. What’s more, it’s coming soon. Ummm great, tell us something we don’t know. Here’s where it gets interesting: According to the Italian paper, Telecom Italia will be seeing the 3G iPhone arrive without long-term exclusivity and without a revenue sharing agreement. Is Apple slipping? Doubtful. Perhaps Jobs just learned that there’s more money to be made by dealing with more partners as opposed to issuing the phone on a single carrier with the delusion that your device is so amazing, customers will be breaking contracts left and right to get their hands on it. It also could mean that the US and ROW release of Apple’s sophomore handset will be much closer together than the first time around, although we all probably had that feeling. Here in the US however, is doesn’t mean much since we can safely assume AT&T will be the only carrier sporting Apple handsets for a while to come.
Italians say 3G iPhone Soon, No Exclusivity
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 5:59PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
