Vodafone have today disappointed expectant individuals hoping for a price war between Vodafone and its competitors for iPhone contracts. Whilst both Orange and Tesco claimed the rights to sell the much sought after handset before Christmas, Vodafone announced it was to begin iPhone contracts on January 14th, bringing expectations that it would greatly reduce prices in a bid to entice customers.
However, revealing its contract plans today, Vodafone showed that offered contracts would be largely similar to current plans already on the market. Offering a standard 3G iPhone on a two year contract, Vodafone will charge the same price as Orange at £30per month. However, unlike its rival, customers will have to pay £59 for the handset, with those wishing to gain the iPhone for free having to sign up for a two year contract at £35 per month, or £40 a month for an 18 month period.
As Vodafone UK’s chief executive Guy Laurence explained that the benefit for customers would be “extras” including free calls for life and unlimited texts, Moneysupermarket.com’s Julie Owens expressed disappointment at the deal. “Vodafone has…failed to ignite the competition in the market that consumers had been hoping for. The prices are generally the same as O2 and Orange. The only difference is that Vodafone offers unlimited texts on all of their packages which does give them the edge for heavy texters.”
The battle for customers began earlier this year when O2’s exclusivity contract with iPhone ended. As both Orange and Tesco quickly wrapped up deals with Apple, Vodafone was one of the last to finalise negotiation, giving the former two companies a head start on the market. Whilst Vodafone’s chief executive Vittorio Colao expressed the company was at risk of damage from its late start, it remains to be seen just how many contracts Vodafone will manage to claim.
