T-Mobile has brokered an iPhone distribution agreement for Austria, Croatia, Hungary and The Netherlands

iPhone goes pan-European after all

T-Mobile snaps up four more territories, according to report

Written by Shaun Nichols in California

vnunet.com, 18 Sep 2007

Apple's iPhone will not be constrained to the big three European countries after all.

Reports in the Financial Times Deutschland suggest that German operator T-Mobile has successfully brokered a distribution agreement for Austria, Croatia, Hungary and The Netherlands.

Earlier reports claimed that T-Mobile had reeled in the German iPhone contract, along with O2 in the UK and Orange in France.

According to the Financial Times Deutschland report, the deal will offer Apple concessions previously unheard of among handset makers.

In addition to revenue from the sales of the iPhone itself, Apple will receive a 10 per cent cut of the subscription and usage fees.

Apple is believed to have similar deals on the table with its other European providers and with US carrier AT&T.

The report comes just 24 hours before Apple is expected to reveal its final plans for a European iPhone rollout.

The company has scheduled a special media event in London on 18 September, and the Financial Times Deutschland said that Deutsche Telekom will hold its own press conference on 19 September in Berlin.

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.