MOBILE: MTN Cyprus launches Apple’s iPhone6

MTN Cyprus, the alternative mobile phone provider that is rapidly catching up with state-owned CytaMobile Vodafone, is launching Apple’s iPhone 6 to new and existing contract subscribers as of Thursday.

This is a major scoop for the telco that has often challenged Cyta’s hegemony in new device arrivals and packages, as Cyprus was not yet a “priority” market for the release of the record-selling new iPhone.
Apple Inc. said its figures for the iPhone 6 release in the U.S. and Canada last weekend showed that sales set a new record topping 10 mln units. The company added that iPhone 6 models will be available in more than 20 additional countries on Friday, with an expected 115 countries by the end of the year.
MTN Cyprus seems to have secured an unspecified number of devices from other European suppliers, with company officials adding that “more will be coming in” and that there already had been “great interest” in their online ‘expression of interest’ posted in recent weeks.
The telco’s CEO, Philip Van Dalsen, said that “MTN has once again been the first to introduce the last offerings to the Cyprus market. We continue to innovate and continue to be the first to offer the latest choices at the most competitive prices.”
The iPhone 6 is not sold retail (chip-only) and is available to new and existing ‘Smart Unlimited’ subscribers with a 24-month contract with a monthly fee of 73 euros. Based on the ‘Unlimited’ contract value of 51 euros a month, the new iPhone 6 is thus priced at 528 euros (US$ 677).
The device is also available to all ‘Smart’ contract subscribers, but at a purchase premium above the monthly fee range of 15-35 euros.
MTN Cyprus, that says it will have the device available in all its 18 stores fro Thursday, did not say when the iPhone 6-plus would be available.
MTN Cyprus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MTN Group, listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange, with 200 mln subscribers in a network of 22 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.