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O2: iPhone tempting customers away from rivals
Exclusivity paying off?

By Reuters

Published: Monday 10 December 2007

Three out of four UK buyers of the iPhone will be new O2 customers won from rival mobile networks, according to the new head of O2, which has the exclusive rights to sell the iPhone in the UK.

Matthew Key, incoming head of O2, said: "Over time, three out of four [UK] customers of the iPhone will be new O2 customers, because you can only get the iPhone by becoming a customer of O2."

Key declined to comment on how many of the music-playing and web-browsing handsets had been sold since its launch on 9 November but sales in the first few weeks have been in line with expectations, he said.

O2 has previously said it sold tens of thousands of the handsets in its first weekend but the company has never revealed the commercial terms of its agreement with Apple, in which revenue is shared between the partners.

O2 aims to consolidate its leading position in the UK and to recoup ground in the German market.