O2 updates to EDGE in preparation for the iPhone?

Say it ain't so

7 September 2007 13:09 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Ready for some more "O2 is getting the iPhone" rumours? It seems that O2 is currently updating its infrastructure from GPRS to EDGE.

Nothing majorly newsworthy in that, you might think, until you consider that Apple's iPhone is designed to work on that very same EDGE technology for data access.

This little bombshell, accompanied by a screen shot to prove the upgrade, was revealed by a member of the MacRumours forum in a post yesterday that stated:

"I work at O2 - this message appeared on the intranet yesterday. Why would O2 upgrade their kit from GPRS to EDGE when they're focusing on 3G otherwise?"

Why indeed. As far as rumours and whispers go, O2 could currently be described as the front-runner to win the iPhone contract in the UK. A recent quote from a "major retailer" said: "It is the world's worst kept secret that the have the deal".

The EDGE changeover certainly appears too much of a coincidence to be one, and if true, shatters hopes of a 3G iPhone many have wished for in the UK.