SingTel ropes iPhone distro in Singapore, India, Australia, and Philippines

Singapore Telecommunications (aka SingTel) announced that it's secured agreements to distribute the iPhone in Singapore (on SingTel Mobile) and its partly-owned subsidiaries in Australia (on Optus), India (on Bharti Group), and the Philippines (on Globe Telecom). Vodafone's also distributing the iPhone in India and Australia though, so we'll have to wait until later this year to find out who gets to shoot first.

[ChrisTheFeralCom @ May 12th 2008 2:41AM]

Sweet, Vodaphone and Optus are my favourites, Vodaphone is slightly better IMO

[thef1re @ May 12th 2008 2:51AM]

Vodafone.

[audioboxer @ May 12th 2008 3:15AM]

I'm fairly happy with Optus over in WA.. so this is good news all around. Wonder if the iphone will help drag down the cost of data plans a bit..

[Ryan @ May 12th 2008 3:31AM]

Vodafones data plans are horrible, $30 for 100Mb is a joke even in Australia. http://www.vodafone.com.au/Business/BusinessSolutions/DataBundles/index.htm

[ChrisTheFeralCom @ May 12th 2008 3:36AM]

Yes, 2cents per kb with optus, so Vodaphone is better... btw they are the average, and I would never EVER go back to 3 with their $5 for 1gb because their service is horrible and they ripped us off A HELL OF A LOT OF MONEY

[Namarrgon @ May 12th 2008 4:18AM]

Vodafone's *other* dataplans are great though - 5GB for $39/month:

http://www.vodafone.com.au/Business/BusinessSolutions/VodafoneMobileBroadband/Howmuchdoesitcost/HotOffer5GBMobileBroadband/index.htm

I just wish they had something better inbetween.

[Ryan @ May 12th 2008 6:44AM]

@Namarrgon

That is only when you use the data card through via your laptop though, that data plan can't be used via your mobile/iphone.

[MARSHAK @ May 12th 2008 7:56AM]

you think you're getting raped? rogers (canada) charges 5 cents/kb

[CUBSWILLWIN @ May 12th 2008 7:34AM]

I visit india a lot since I'm part indian, and I'd say vodafone is the best because Airtel (Bharti Group) is a bit of a hassle to get a all new phone from them and their customer service is almost like sprints, while vodafone (in india) is pretty amazing in prices and customer service.

[Naveen @ May 12th 2008 8:31AM]

I'm from India and I do think Vodafone is much better than Airtel...

[Benson @ May 12th 2008 3:10AM]

Han, of course.

[ChrisInAStrangeLand @ May 12th 2008 3:15AM]

Fantastic that Apple is allowing competition in Australia. Vodafone has marginally better plans, but Optus' coverage is superior, atleast in my area.

[Wojtek @ May 12th 2008 3:16AM]

If only 3 got on the bandwagon!

Vodafone has very poor data plans
Not sure about optus these days but they didn't when i last looked.
3 on the other hand with it's x-series product is best suited for the iphone.

[r3loaded @ May 12th 2008 4:05AM]

3 will only carry 3G phones...

Oh, the irony!

[Willy @ May 14th 2008 2:40AM]

That's why it's called 3 you foolish person

[Cash @ May 12th 2008 3:26AM]

Well this explains why you can't find the iPhone online or in retail outlets at the moment... they are all being shipped out to other countries. Its an interesting reversal though: Asia is just now getting the first gen iPhone while the US should have the second gen in little more then a month. I'd like to see this trend continue.

[SV @ May 12th 2008 3:43AM]

Actually, no. This has nothing to do with the current stock shortages in the US and UK.

With regard to networks, the US is playing catchup while the Asia-Pacific is rolling out new 3G networks and upgrading existing ones like there's no tomorrow. The second-gen iPhone belongs in these countries and it will most likely be the first iPhone to be made available. And I'm willing to bet that for some of these countries, it'll be available unlocked, too, due to trading practices outlined by the respective governments.

[Ben @ May 12th 2008 3:28AM]

No carrier is going to get to "shoot first" later in the year. It's all completely obvious: the 3G iPhone is going to be a non exclusive release.

In the mean time all GSM carriers around the world are rushing to do press releases saying "we've got the iPhone!!!". Never once has the word "exclusive" been used in any of the recent iPhone press releases.

Result: buy your iphone from the apple store and stick any GSM sim card in it.

[Sieger @ May 12th 2008 3:32AM]

Asia will be going straight to the second gen phone.

[Sieger @ May 12th 2008 3:33AM]

Sorry that comment was for Cash.

[Wiigee @ May 12th 2008 3:33AM]

India? so will they now offer "Benny Lava" as a ringtone?

[Kai @ May 12th 2008 3:35AM]

I wonder if the iPhones would come locked to the operator...

I believe there is a law in Singapore prohibiting locking of phones to the operator (like in many other countries).

[SteveS @ May 12th 2008 3:35AM]

Nice, but can we now have iTunes Store access in Singapore too...

[DiscoCat5 @ May 12th 2008 4:04AM]

so if im not mistaken its coming out on optus, vodafone, and telstra? ps i thought it was known that optus would have it a week or so ago?!

[Namarrgon @ May 12th 2008 4:20AM]

Telstra's NextG network only works at 850MHz, unlike the others which use 2100MHz.

It'll be interesting to see if iPhone supports that at all, or if it's back to EDGE for Telstra users...

[Husar @ May 12th 2008 5:14AM]

I thought that Telstra rejected supplying the iphone in Aus.

[Pc_Madness @ May 12th 2008 5:20AM]

Telstra rejected doing an AT&T and paying a heap of money.

[everunman @ May 12th 2008 4:26AM]

Im sure you could import a 3g iphone (once they become available) and it should work on any network in Australia

[Vinay @ May 12th 2008 4:54AM]

Okay, so two operators providing the iPhone in India?

Vodafone AND AirTel.


Now that seems sweet. Hope it shreds the prices down.

[Pc_Madness @ May 12th 2008 4:58AM]

Not likely. :p Apple will set a price like it does with the iPods.

[sk @ May 12th 2008 6:13AM]

The price on Vodafone is already out man. 19k INR for the 16 gigger. ITs a decent deal IMO but the 3G iPhone is geting hotter and real by the day, so I suggest the usual way, you know. ;)

[chris @ May 12th 2008 5:30AM]

Well, Telstra did tell Apple they should stick to what they know when they announced the iPhone. Maybe Jobs has a long memory?

[kakapo @ May 12th 2008 5:34AM]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Optus!!!

Good... I don't have to be phuqued by anyone new!!!

How lovely!

So - I will buy it at an Apple Store and use my current Optus SIM...
UNLE$$$$$$$$$$$... OPTUS makes a Godfather offer...

Heh...

[lindtdale @ May 12th 2008 5:57AM]

Damn, why Globe for the Philippines?!!!!! It should have been SMART! They have better coverage and they are the biggest telecom in the country! WHY!!!!!!!!?

[enigmatic @ May 12th 2008 7:09AM]

It's Globe because as the article stated, it is partly owned by SingTel.. and besides, Globe's services are not that bad... they are continually improves their services... and besides, i doubt that this phone will be used for internet proposes because it lacks the 3G capabilities which most users would like/love to have... just my thoughts.....

[devnull_1337 @ May 12th 2008 7:42AM]

@lindtdale
i was also hoping smart will carry iphone in the philippines. their 20PHP/hour 3G on-demand rate is nice. but as Ben mentioned above, the article never mentioned "exclusive" so it just might be non-exclusive. at any rate there's always the unlock option. important thing is that it's finally, officially coming to our shores.

[RonCastry @ May 12th 2008 9:14AM]

Go Globe! I always told myself that I'd wait until Globe gets the iPhone before I get one. It looks like I'll get a 3G model to boot! :-)

[enigmatic @ May 12th 2008 9:38AM]

But I wonder, how much will GLOBE charge for this...

[Philip V. @ May 12th 2008 12:29PM]

No not Globe! I'm still loyal to Smart though. Besides, the iPhone would probably cost double, make that triple, it's actual price in other countries.

[cylonite @ May 12th 2008 6:00AM]

Yay, for Airtel

[kakapo @ May 12th 2008 7:13AM]

I find it interesting that everyone has already decided what phone will be released into the Asian market - it doesn't have 3G or this or that.

Would you please direct me to the inside information that you have that validates just exactly how the iPhones will be configured - or is is all conjecture?

Thanks

[jasondefaoite @ May 12th 2008 8:01AM]

Singtel will release the iPhone in Singapore in September. All three teleco's have solid 3.5G networks in Singapore. There will be no more Gen1 iPhones available after June, when the v2 is released.

Why the hell would Singapore wait till September to release gen 1? I'd rather buy it from the US (current exchange rates look good :p).

As already speculated above, I believe this will be back to the old ways of phone distribution ... the carriers will sub the phone for a 2 year contract. The phone will be unlocked and available full price from Apple (without contract). Apple's current plan has failed. They are no where near 10M sold, this despite the high percentage of unlocks out there.

If apple wants this to become the de facto smartphone, it needs to be unlocked and cheaper. Apple has a new revenue stream ... the app store!

[Akshat @ May 12th 2008 8:02AM]

I don't know if someone already said this, but Bharati is not a subsidiary of Singtel. Singtel owns a stake I'm sure .. but thats it.

[nandanbabla @ May 12th 2008 9:58AM]

Just FYI...

The Bharti group is NOT a subsidiary of SingTel. The Bharti group own "Airtel" which has one of the largest cellphone user bases in the world. SingTel may own a minority stake in Bharti, but it is NOT a subsidiary.

[curly @ May 12th 2008 10:05AM]

Finally, iPhone officially in the Philippines! Congratulations to Globe Telecom for getting into the act. Now it's time to set up an iTunes Philippine store too.

[Mizuki @ May 12th 2008 8:20PM]

YAY! I'm so relieved Globe will officially bring iPhone to the Philippines. I now have the reason to extend my subscription, which will expire by January next year. :)

[Anand Batra @ May 12th 2008 10:44AM]

SigTel owns 30% of Airtel. Ryan, please gets your facts right. It's not a subsidiary of SingTel. It's a publicly listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, and is about to acquire South Africa's MTN.

[Paul @ May 12th 2008 10:56AM]

come on 3G!

[tekdroid @ May 12th 2008 12:06PM]

non-removable batteries (without surgery) for one and all!
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/battery/

*Because the public demanded non user-repleacable batts.
*Because the public wants "return to base" battery replacements.
*Because the public wants to replace their phone before the 400-500 charge battery is dead.
*Because the public never wishes to replace a dead batt with a spare while travelling.

Apple by no means the only guilty party here. Just look at the sorry state of portable audio, where removable batts are considered some prehistoric relic. How sad. Do we want this in the phone market?

[smart.iphone.ph @ May 12th 2008 10:42PM]

a number of people here in the Philippines are already using iPhones, as i would guess everywhere else in the globe.Unlocked units are working fine with the service providers, i don't think it'd really matter if it's globe or smart telecoms, or Sun.
I'm just glad they have plans because I busted my headset, if iPhone will be officially offered here then getting accessories wouldn't be that difficult as it is now.