Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) said Tuesday it will sell Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone in the U.K. and Ireland from early next year, a day after France Telecom SA's (FTE) Orange secured a similar deal.

The key difference is that Vodafone will only start to sell the iPhone from early 2010, whereas the phone will be available on Orange's network before Chirstmas.

Pricing, tariffs and availability information will be announced locally in the future, Vodafone said in a brief statement. However, Vodafone customers in the U.K. and Ireland can register their interest in the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on its website now.

Vodafone already offers the iPhone through 13 of its operating companies.

On Monday, Orange said it had reached an agreement to sell the iPhone in the U.K. later this year, bringing to an end a two year exclusive contract held by rival Telefonica SA's (TEF) O2 mobile network.

O2's exclusive deal with Apple has helped the company to boost sales, customers and average revenue per user, and catapulted the operator ahead of rival Vodafone into first place as the largest mobile network in the U.K. by subscriber numbers.

-By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290; lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com

(Kathy Sandler in London contributed to this article)