iPhone 4 price war begins as Three undercuts rivals

Three offers a 30-day iPhone 4 rolling contract for £15 per month

UK operator Three is taking pre-orders for micro-SIM price plans on the iPhone 4, signalling the possible start of a network price war.

Three is the only network to offer a 30-day rolling contract for £15 per month. This includes 300 any network minutes, 3,000 texts, 1GB of data and 2,000 Three-to-Three minutes.

Other networks, including O2, Orange and Vodafone, seem content to offer similar 30-day plans for £25 per month, and are trying to win customers by outdoing each other on internet data allowances.

The operators offer 600 minutes and unlimited texts, but O2 offers just 500MB of data. Vodafone, meanwhile, allows 1GB of internet use through 3G, but Orange offers unlimited browsing over its network, which could be a clincher.

Three appears to be trying to shake things up by offering 2,000 any network minutes, 5,000 texts, 1GB of internet allowance and 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes. There is a catch, however; customers have to sign a 12-month contract.

The price war is in its early stages, as the iPhone 4 seems to be sold out everywhere. But, as customers have a choice of networks from the off, tariff prices are going to play a major role in an iPhone 4 purchase.