Kiwis who lust after a new iPhone may soon have a choice of service provider other than Vodafone.

According to a report by New Zealand's National Business Review, Telecom New Zealand's retail chief Alan Gourdie said that the company is in "discussions - deep discussions - with Apple."

Vodafone's iPhone 3G offerings are now available in a broad array of New Zealand locations, so New Zealanders aren't deprived of such iPhone wonderments as the digitally flatulent iFart, Chicago-corruption simulator Pay2Play, and boob'n'booty-bouncing Wobble, as long as they're in solid with Vodafone.

However, the rumored advent of a next-gen iPhone may be working in Telecom's favor. In the States, for example, AT&T's exclusive deal for the iPhone 3G is rumored to be slipping away in Verizon's favor for future 'Phones.

Perhaps similar "deep discussions" are underway between Cupertino and Christchurch. ®

Related stories

• Comment 'iPhone lite' and the business of world domination (29 April 2009)
• Microsoft in the Pink with Verizon on iPhone? (28 April 2009)
• Verizon eyes future iPhones (17 April 2009)
• AT&T seeks additional year of iPhone lock-in (15 April 2009)
• US mobile carriers want more devices, fewer OSes (9 April 2009)
• Apple follows AT&T with no-contract iPhones (27 March 2009)
• AT&T to sell no-contract iPhones (20 March 2009)
• Softbank gives Japan free iPhones (27 February 2009)
• Apple iPhone poised for China touchdown (25 February 2009)