Apple’s strategy of tying the sale of its iPhone to one network per country may be unravelling after it was revealed yesterday that Italy would be the first country to sell it on a non-exclusive basis.

Vodafone and Telecom Italia said yesterday that both had won contracts to bring the iPhone to Italy this year — ending an almost year-long period in which only one operator per country had distribution rights to the phone.

Vodafone, the world’s largest operator by market capitalisation, has won the right to distribute the device in nine other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and India. The Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, South Africa and Turkey will also get the iPhone through the Vodafone tie-up, boosting Apple’s target to sell ten million iPhones this year.

Apple now faces the prospect that operators in other countries may revolt against its onerous terms, which are understood to involve the network sharing 10 per cent of revenues in return for the right to distribute the iPhone exclusively for a two-year period.

Will Draper, an analyst for Execution, said: “This is definitely a sign Apple is capitulating.”

Apple is expected to announce a faster, 3G version of the iPhone next month.

Ben Woods, telecoms analyst at CCS Insight, said: “I think Apple has recognised that its exclusive deals with operators pushed more people to unlock iPhones and meet demand from customers on competing networks who wanted Apple’s hot product.”

Apple is understood to have shipped 600,000 iPhones to the three European operators that have won contracts to distribute the device: O2, which has a deal covering the UK and Ireland; Orange, in France; and T-Mobile, in Germany and Austria.

Vodafone’s announcement yesterday fuelled speculation that Apple was about to launch the 3G version, with June 9 and June 29 as possible dates.

Vodafone shares closed down 2.7p at 160.8p last night. Apple ended the day up $1.93 at $186.66 on Wall Street.

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