Orange today announced that they will start selling the iPhone 3GS and 3G through their retail network on the 10th November, but perhaps more importantly, and dissappointing, is that the price war many were hoping for will not happen - at least not yet.

When it was first announced that Apple had signed agreements with both Orange and Vodafone to sell the iPhone in the UK, ending the exclusivity of O2, many were hoping that it would result in lower tariffs and prices on the popular Apple iPhone, but following todays announced tariffs there is  only pennies separating the two networks.

As an example, Orange will offer the 32gb iPhone 3GS on a 24 month contract with £34.26 monthly rate  (includes 600 minutes and 500 texts) with the cost of the iPhone itself coming in at £175, making the offers pretty much identical. To compare more tariffs and where to buy, check our iPhone 3GS buying guide.

One thing to keep in mind though is that Orange has a fair usage limit on the data at 750MB per month, whilst O2 offers unlimited usage. This seems like an odd move coming from the network that is considered to have the superior data network, but given the relative high limit they are obviously thinking it will not be a barrier for their customers, as it can look like these tariffs and costs are mostly targeted towards keeping current customers from switching to different networks due to the iPhone.

Now we just have to wait and see what Vodafone will do when they enter the iPhone market in early 2010, hopefully providing some more price competition into the iPhone market.

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