Vodafone confirms iPhone launch

Richard Goodwin

Vodafone has confirmed that it will become the forth UK carrier of Apple's iPhone. The market-leading iPhone will be available on the Vodafone tariff in January 2010.

Vodafone confirmed today that it will join Orange, O2, and Tesco as the forth UK carrier of the iPhone. Vodafone will begin selling the iPhone on the 14 January 2010.

According to the BBC, tariffs will start at £30 per month on a 24 month contract with the handset costing a further £59 for the iPhone 8GB 3G and £239 for the 32GB 3GS.

Vodafone has also confirmed that its data packages, on both consumer and business tariffs, will be limited to 1GB per month, which significantly out-performs Orange's 750MB 'fair use" limit on data.

The Vodafone tariff will also offer unlimited Wi-Fi usage as well as the option for consumers to use their iPhone as a modem. Costs for this service start at £5 a month for 500MB.

Guy Lawrence, chief executive of Vodafone UK, said that O2 has been preparing its network for over a year to handle the introduction of the iPhone, according to the BBC.

Customers can get the iPhone free on Orange and O2 tariffs now for £29.36 and £34.26 respectively - although this is over a 24 month period.

Vodafone also do the iPhone for free, but at a slightly higher price of £35 per month over a 24 month period.