By Sam Oliver
Published: 09:00 AM EST (06:00 AM PST)
Orange, the exclusive provider of iPhones in France, announced Friday a new deal with Apple that will see it expand distribution and service of the device to additional European countries, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.
Specifically, the French carrier said that later this year it will provide details on availability for Austria, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Jordan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and its existing African markets.
A spokesperson for Orange parent company France Telecom told
Reuters that the carrier will be the exclusive iPhone provider in Belgium and Romania, with co-exclusive or non-exclusive deals in other countries.
Orange joins Swisscom and SingTel, which also announced iPhone deals this week. Swisscom
earned the rights to sell the device later this year in Switzerland, while SingTel through its subsidiaries said it
would market the phone in Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia.
Earlier this month, America Movil said it would offer the Apple handset
throughout Latin America, while Vodafone
announced deals for Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.
Telecom Italia Mobile will
also be selling the iPhone in Italy, and Rogers will market the device
in Canada.
