Vodacom has lost its exclusivity over Apple’s iPhone in SA: MTN will launch the product in the country within weeks.

The cellular network operator will announce late on Thursday afternoon that it will begin selling the iPhone device through its channels.

TechCentral has learnt that MTN will issue a press statement late on Thursday confirming what many had already expected: that it has secured a distribution agreement with Apple.

The one-line statement will read: “MTN will launch iPhone 4, the thinnest smartphone in the world with the highest-resolution display ever built into a phone, in SA in the coming month.”

There’s no word yet on how MTN will charge for the device, or whether it plans to undercut Vodacom.

TechCentral understands the device could go on sale in a matter of weeks, if not even sooner, depending on stock availability.

Vodacom, meanwhile, has said it will launch the iPhone 4 before the end of September.

Apple has sold more than 6m units of the iPhone 4 since its launch in the US on 24 June. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral