Citing people familiar with the matter, the report claims that the number of providers selling the phone in Germany will be reduced down to three - Vodafone, Telefónica's O2 brand and Deutsche Telekom. Although the details haven't been finalized, negotiations are thought to have reached an "advanced stage," and Deutsche Telekom's exclusive rights to sell the device could possibly end as early as October 2010. With this expected termination timeframe in mind, we are led to believe that the definition of "this year's holiday shopping season" seems to imply late-November, or the time when retail stores worldwide usually discount hot items in order to anticipate high demand.
As of quarter end's on June 30, 2010, Deutsche Telekom has sold a total of 1.9 million iPhones in Germany and saw a mobile-service revenue increase of 6.1 percent in comparison to a year earlier. In contrast, Vodafone witnessed a 0.2 percent increase within the same timeframe.
According to the latest numbers available, Deutsche Telecom has a total of 37 million mobile customers in Germany, while Vodafone has 34.9 million and O2 has 16.3 million. With an imminent exclusivity termination in Germany, the country will become the last major market on the European continent in which one provider had exclusive rights to sell the iPhone.