The iPhone might not be exclusive to AT&T here in the U.S. for much longer if Italy is any sign of things to come.
Fortune reports that two vendors — Vodafone and Telecom Italia — recently announced plans to sell the iPhone in the Old Country, the first time that Apple has allowed multiple providers to sell the phone in the same country.
Just speculating here, but unless there’s some reason that Italy gets special treatment, it seems likely that Apple will grant similar dispensations in other countries.
And that may be one reason that AT&T will reportedly offer $200 discounts to shoppers who buy the 3G iPhone directly from AT&T rather than from Apple (or, potentially, another service provider).
If AT&T’s iPhone monopoly is coming to an end, then it will have to compete for iPhone buyers just as it does for buyers of other handsets available from multiple carriers, and that could mean a price war.
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