Incumbents beware
No sooner does Tesco announce it will be bundling own-brand landline and broadband services, than it drops another telco bombshell. The supermarket giant is hoping you will be able to get an Apple iPhone with your value beans by this Christmas.
A very short press release today announced Tesco Mobile - its 50:50 joint venture with O2 - will shortly be offering the iPhone 3G and 3GS in shops and online. That's it.
In a bid to find out more, we contacted a spokesperson at Tesco Mobile and they told HEXUS.channel that Tesco is striving to offer the phone by Christmas, but can't yet guarantee it. Furthermore, they said it will be available on both monthly and pay-as-you-go tariffs, and while they couldn't confirm the precise costs, Tesco will be looking to be as price-competitive as possible.
Tesco Mobile already has over two million subscribers in the UK and it looks like Tesco is positioning itself to take on the big five UK operators. Currently only O2 and Orange have the iPhone, with Vodafone not expected to join the party until next year.
The spokesperson confirmed that Tesco could offer a ‘triple play' bundle of landline, broadband and mobile if it wanted, but that it's not considering that option right now.
