This news has been confirmed this morning in a short statement from the Canadian network operator. Ted Rogers, company President and CEO issued a statement to the following effect: “We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it now, but stay tuned.” Rogers Telecom has been in the frame for an iPhone launch for some time, with industry observers noting the network to be the only one with the GSM/EDGE infrastructure required to support the device in that country. As 9to5 Mac noted in March, “if you have a hacked iPhone they are your only choice.” Unless Apple plans to liberate the Canadian launch from being available exclusively through Rogers (and there’s nothing in today’s company statement that certainly implies an exclusive deal) the news means competing Canadian telco’s have lucked-out, despite the Canadian government currently auctioning off more mobile spectrum. With this morning’s news speculating a wider distribution in Latin America, our recent disclosure of Apple’s plans for introducing the iPhone into Mexico and continued – and intensive chatter emanating from within carriers worldwide, Apple seems set to make an aggressive move to widen its distribution, perhaps as soon as June, making the device available through multiple carriers in those countries where such a move most makes sense.
