Airtel not contemplating change in iPhone price

New Delhi, Sept 15 (UNI) Bharti Airtel Ltd, the country's largest private sector telecom operator, today said it is not contemplating any price cuts for the Apple 3G iPhone maintaining that it is for the parent company to take the final call.

''It is for Apple to decide on the pricing of the iPhone, we have no say in that,'' Bharti Enterprises Deputy Group CEO and Managing Director Akhil Gupta told reporters here.

We are looking at bringing in more customers to our fold as the response has been good, he added.

In India, the iPhone has been priced well above the international level of 199 dollars, which is expected to hit the sales.

The iPhone is available at Rs 31,000 (8GB) and Rs 36,100 (16GB) in India from Airtel and Vodafone.

''Compared to the international market, in India it is a different story. The overall response has been good,'' Mr Gupta said.

The company has partnered three banks to offer the much-hyped phone on a monthly instalment basis to promote sales.

Bharti Airtel, in partnership with VISA, offers financing options for all VISA cardholders of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and Citibank.

UNI SR/AK SG AS1542