U.K.'s Vodafone Sells 50,000 iPhones On Day One

Vodafone is the fourth company in the U.K. to carry the iPhone, following O2, Orange and Tesco. While O2 once enjoyed a two-year exclusive deal with Apple to offer the iPhone in the U.K., that exclusivity ended last year and Orange and Tesco began offering the Apple smartphone in November and December, respectively.

Vodafone, in a statement, said it was delivering more than 50,000 iPhones today to fulfill preorders for the handset. A story in the Guardian newspaper said there were reports of lines forming at Vodaphone's retail stores.

Orange sold 30,000 iPhones on its first day in November while Tesco has not disclosed any sales figures, the Guardian said.

Vodafone also emphasized that it expects its network to be able to handle the expected surge in traffic the new iPhone subscribers will generate. In December O2 said that its London network had problems keeping up with the demand in data services created by the iPhone, resulting in poor service for some customers.

O2, Orange and Vodafone operate their own mobile networks. Tesco, a supermarket company, uses O2's wireless network.