“Will VimpelCom be the first wireless operator to sell the iPhone in Russia? If Chief Executive Alexander Izosimov has his way, it will. ‘Nobody’s struck a deal with Apple yet, but we would love to,’ he says. Izosimov says no negotiations are taking place, and he has no idea whether his company will win the rights to sell Apple’s coveted device. But in a wide-ranging interview with BusinessWeek, the CEO makes it clear that he’s looking at many avenues to maintain the rapid growth his company has seen in recent years, from adding new devices like the iPhone to expanding into the broadband business,” Jay Yarow reports for BusinessWeek.
“VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, is Russia’s second-largest wireless provider, with 52 million subscribers,” Yarrow reports.
“VimpelCom wants to join with Apple to tap into the expected strong demand from consumers for the device. But its two major rivals, Mobile TeleSystems and MegaFon, are interested in the iPhone, too. ‘Obviously we would love to [sell the Apple phone this year],’ says a spokesman for Mobile TeleSystems,” Yarrow reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]