Report suggests iPhone is hurting operator profits

A report by Danish analysts Strand Consult has found that operators carrying Apple's iPhone are having their profits hurt by the decision.

Apple has traditionally signed up with one mobile operator in each country, such as AT&T in the US and O2 in the UK. AT&T's profits were down slightly at the last quarter but it has increased its market share using the iPhone from rivals and wants to keep the exclusive deal it has to sell them.

"We have not found one operator which has created shareholder value with iPhone," Strand Consult told Reuters.

"According to the research we have conducted on the operators, not one of these have increased their market share, revenue, or their earnings as a result of introducing the iPhone. On the contrary, some operators have sent out profit warnings because of the iPhone."

The firm cited examples such as SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest phone firm, which said it had seen operating profit margin drop by 3-4 percentage points after introducing the iPhone.

TeliaSonera, which sells the iPhone in all Nordic countries had seen no boost in market share and its average revenue per user (ARPU) had fallen in Denmark and Sweden by more than the competition.

The authors noticed that other manufacturers were also catching up with Apple's technical and usability advantages and, in some cases, winning over converts.