MegaFon announces iPhone deal [u]
September 2nd 2008
Bloomberg reports that MegaFon, Russia's third-largest wireless provider, is saying that it has signed an agreement with Apple to sell the 3G iPhone, though the company is mum on details.
"We believe most consumers who wanted iPhones already have them," said Nadezhda Golubeva, analyst, Unicredit Aton in an August report. "We only expect the 'big three' stepping in to cause a material acceleration of iPhone sales if they start pricing them below gray-market sales."
IGM previously reported that Apple has already signed with Russia's big three carriers--Mobile TeleSystems, VimpelCom and MegaFon--though only VimpelCom and MegaFon have publicly said as much.
[u] Bloomberg reports that Russia's largest carrier, Mobile TeleSystems, has finally announced it will also sell the iPhone. [u]
It's believed that 400,000 iPhones are already in use in Russia with the zeitgeist defining handset selling for $1,000 unlocked.
Editor's note: Russia is a huge country with a large population. 400,000 iPhones is a fraction of the potential market. Expect millions, especially if the device is priced at or near $200...
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