Apple is rolling out its iPhone through two carriers in Italy, marking the first time it has not signed an exclusive deal with one operator in a country. (Jason DeCrow/Associated Press)

Egypt and Turkey could yet beat Canada in the iPhone sweepstakes.

Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest cellphone carrier outside of China, on Tuesday announced it will roll out Apple Inc.'s hot gadget in 10 markets this year. The British carrier, which has full or partial ownership of cellphone networks in 25 countries, is bringing the iPhone to Australia, India, Italy, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

The announcement comes just a week after Canada's largest carrier, Rogers Communications Inc., said it too would release the iPhone this year. The Rogers announcement drew speculation for its lack of detail — like Vodafone, the company did not give pricing or a release date.

"We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year," president Ted Rogers said in a terse statement last week. "We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned."

Industry observers on Tuesday said Rogers likely made the brief announcement in order to avoid being embarrassed by Vodafone, which is rolling the iPhone out to some smaller and developing countries. Rogers may still be beaten to the punch, however, as Vodafone did not give release dates on its various rollouts.

"Rogers can take some comfort in the fact that they are peers with Egypt and Turkey — important to keep ahead of those ever-threatening Gabonese," said Iain Grant, president of telecommunications consultancy the Seaboard Group. The consultancy last year authored a report that said the African nation's cellphone services were more developed than Canada's.

Rogers spokeswoman Taanta Gupta declined to comment.

Rogers is currently the only possible distributor of the iPhone in Canada because it uses the GSM network standard the device is based on. Canada's two other big carriers, Bell Canada Inc. and Telus Corp., use the rival CDMA standard. Rogers was widely assumed to have sewn up the exclusive rights for the iPhone with its announcement last week, but Apple has now changed the rules of the game by allowing multiple carriers in a single market.

Telecom Italia Mobile on Tuesday also announced it would carry the iPhone by the end of this year, making Italy the first market in which more than one carrier will offer the device.

Apple deal may not be exclusive to Rogers

Rogers would not confirm it has an exclusive deal with Apple, leading analysts to speculate that the company may not end up as the only iPhone carrier in Canada. New cellphone companies are expected to start up in the wake of a government auction of airwaves, which begins later this month. Those new startups are expected to use GSM or similar technology, which means Canada could have several potential iPhone carriers.

"This might mean that Rogers might only have a head start with the iPhone in Canada, but we don't think that would be Rogers' preferred model," Grant said. "It would, in our view, be in Rogers' best interest to seek exclusivity for as long as possible and to gain that exclusivity by swallowing its pride and accepting Apple's various conditions."

Some carriers — including Vodafone — had reportedly balked at Apple's terms for offering the iPhone, which are said to include a portion of monthly subscriber revenue and the offering of unlimited or generous data plans to customers. Vodafone was reported to have passed on the device in its home market of Britain, letting rival carrier O2 pick it up.

Industry analysts in Canada have speculated the long delay in the Rogers launch has centred on the company's reluctance to give in to Apple's terms.

Even if Rogers does not have an exclusive deal with Apple, it will take new entrants some time to build their networks. That could give the company technical exclusivity.

"With only a GSM version of the iPhone available, Rogers can be the only carrier for at least two years even without an exclusive deal," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Jonathan Allen.

The iPhone has won accolades —Time magazine named it "Invention of the Year" for 2007 — for its touch screen and for replicating the desktop internet surfing experience on a cellphone. It launched through AT&T in the United States in June last year and has subsequently been released in five other countries: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France and Austria.

Apple sold nearly four million iPhones last year and plans to sell 10 million by the end of this year. A faster version of the device is expected to be unveiled next month.