Australia's mobile consumers could soon get a series of tempting offers from SingTel-Optus, Telstra and Vodafone Australia in time for September's launch of the Apple iPhone 6, according to analysts.
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Optus fired the first salvo on Sunday when it launched a plan to pay out the exit fees of customers at rival telcos in combination with a trade-in program for old phones.
This means users who pay out their unfinished contracts to upgrade to a new Apple iPhone 6 will have the amount credited back if they sign a two-year contract with Optus.
Optus customer managing director Vicki Brady claimed 1.2 million mobile users were expected to come off their contract over the next four months.
Apple's iPhone 6 is expected to be one of its biggest smartphone launches, thanks to expectations of a larger screen and more features like near-field communications [NFC] chips that can enable contactless payments.
"Everyone would acknowledge the [Apple iPhone] 5c and 5s wasn't as big as the iPhone 5," she said.
"Every indication we see at the moment in terms of interest from our customers [and] the number of searches going on in the market show there is a big interest in next week's announcement from Apple.
"Our offer makes it more accessible for customers to be able to get the device early and up to $450 credit will make it a little easier for them."
Credit Suisse research analyst Fraser McLeish said Optus was aiming to win over customers who are hungry for the iPhone 6.
"When the new 4G iPhone came out that was a major update and I don't think I'd put the iPhone 6 in that category, but it's always a big event," he said. "This is the sort of thing Optus needs to do, coupled with an improving network.
"It's fair to say Vodafone is the main target. Vodafone has been targeting high data usage users especially in urban areas ... and they've mostly done what they need to on the network but the data sharing targets Telstra users."
But he also said Telstra and Vodafone Australia were likely to neutralise the offer with similar or better deals.
"Vodafone has to be able to hold that position as having the best pricing in the market," Mr McLeish said.
A Vodafone Australia spokesman said the telco already allowed customers to upgrade without any penalties in the last three months of their contracts.
"Customers will save simply by staying with Vodafone," he said.
