Is SingTel deal with iPhone really exclusive?

We’ve been led to believe that SingTel will be “first” to have the iPhone for months now, in a deal that would make the hyped up gizmo at least exclusive to it for a while.

But in today’s news, you’ll read that M1 and StarHub are also confident of getting the gadget in by the end of the year.

Now is already June, so how many months exclusive does that give SingTel on the iPhone?

Worse, Apple seems to say in its SEC filings that it has not signed exclusive deals in many countries coz they are “generally not exclusive with a specific carrier”.

Apple has signed multi-year agreements with carriers authorizing them to distribute and provide network services for iPhones in over 70 countries. These agreements are generally not exclusive with a specific carrier, except in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and certain other countries.

Source: http://www.secinfo.com/d141Nx.t14nr.htm
(thanks to yc for that!)

Does “certain other countries” include Singapore? That’s the mystery.

But for users out there, it’s clear: There’s no need to rush for it. And no need to change operators (via number port) for it! Just wait for your operator to bring it in. Or the friendly ahbeng shop to bring it in without contract.