O2 may start unlocking iPhones

Following on from the demise of O2’s iPhone exclusive deal, the carrier is looking into allowing users to have their phone unlocked at the end of their contracts.

The Register talked to O2, whose spokesperson revealed that they were looking for new solutions to keep customers happy now that the iPhone is available on other networks, saying, “we did not offer unlocking at the end of a customer's iPhone contract as we had the exclusive contract for the iPhone in the UK. Obviously, that situation has changed... and we are currently working through what will happen.”

While this isn’t definitive confirmation that O2’s going to start unlocking iPhones, it’s a pretty good indication that it’s the only workable solution for the carrier – although it’s not a legal requirement in the UK.

Following on from the couple of exceptionally ripe years O2’s had with the iPhone, the carrier’s come into a few worrying snags. First there was the prediction that it would see thousands of returned iPhones following the end of the exclusive, and now the possibility of more iPhone distress. O2’s next big exclusive is the Palm Pre.

Will this ease the troubled waters? Only time will tell, but judging by its performance in the US, it may well not.