BCE, Telus to sell iPhone next month: report

TORONTO, USA: BCE Inc and Telus Corp will begin selling Apple Inc's popular iPhone in Canada next month, breaking the monopoly that rival Rogers Communications has held on iPhone sales for more than a year, the Globe and Mail reported on Monday.

Rogers has been the only Canadian wireless carrier able to offer the iPhone because Rogers' network uses the HSPA and GSM wireless standards on which the smartphone operates.

Telus and BCE had instead used CDMA wireless technology and were unable to offer the iPhone. To better compete against Rogers, the two banded together to install an HSPA network overlay. Analysts had speculated that BCE and Telus would offer the iPhone once this upgrade was complete.

That was scheduled to happen in early 2010, but Bell announced on Monday that the new upgraded network will be ready in November.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Globe reported on its website that BCE and Telus will announce "a working partnership with Apple as early as Tuesday or Wednesday" and will start selling the iPhone in time for the launch of their new network next month.

"We've made no announcements yet regarding mobile devices that will be available on the new network," a BCE spokesman said. A Telus spokesman was not immediately available for comment.