Digital Trends

France, Germany and the United Kingdom will be the only European countries to receive the iPhone before 2008.

While hackers in the U.S. are figuring out how to break the iPhone free of its service-provider restraints, service providers abroad are lining up to become the exclusive carrier of Apple’s hit phone. According to a report by Financial Times, Telefónica’s O2 network should be the first in the United Kingdom to offer the iPhone, while providers in other countries were speculated upon.

The European launch of the iPhone will be limited to the UK, and Germany, the same three countries Apple chose to debut its iTunes music store in Europe. Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile will likely get the iPhone in Germany, and France Telecom’s Orange in France. Each prospective company represents the largest provider in its respective country.

Unfortunately for European customers, the iPhone they get will use the same 2.5G data connection as the U.S. phones, instead of faster 3G technology. No information was yet available on what price the iPhone will fetch for its European debut, or what data plans customers will be offered there.

For those outside the U.S. and Europe’s three selected countries, the iPhone will be arriving in 2008.