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Vodafone is the latest cell phone company to get Apple's iPhone, the company said Tuesday.

Telecom Italia also said Tuesday it's going to sell the iPhone in Italy.

Vodafone will be distributing the iPhone in 10 countries, making this the first time that Apple has sold the phone through two different operators in the same market.

(Credit: Apple)

Vodafone subscribers will be able to get the iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and later this year in Turkey.

Almost a year after the iPhone hit store shelves in the U.S. market, it's still only available in a few countries outside the U.S., including the U.K., Germany, and France.

Canadian wireless operator Rogers Communications recently announced it has the exclusive contract to sell the popular touch-screen device there.

Apple watchers believe the company will soon come out with a 3G version of the iPhone. Apple has cut prices of the iPhone in the U.K. and Germany, which some believe is an indication the company is getting ready to launch the 3G version of the phone this summer. T-Mobile is currently selling the 8GB iPhone in Germany for 99 euros until the end of June. Subscribers who get the phone at the price have to agree to a hefty service contract.

Madonna fans who can't get tickets to the intimate concert kicking off the release of her latest album in New York City on Wednesday night can catch a glimpse of the show on their cell phones.

Verizon Wireless and Vodafone are teaming up with the pop diva to promote the new album Hard Candy, which hit stores on Tuesday. And as part of this deal, the wireless operators will deliver a live global mobile simulcast of Madonna performing four songs at New York's Roseland Ballroom.

The simulcast, which is the first time Verizon or Vodafone has ever streamed a live event to cell phone subscribers, will begin at 7 p.m. PDT on Verizon's V Cast Performances channel on Wednesday, April 30. And it will be offered on Vodafone's Live broadcast channel starting at 3 a.m. GMT May 1 for subscribers in several international markets including the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. The four songs will be archived on the V Cast Performances channel for 30 days, giving fans who couldn't tune in a chance to see it later.

The concert simulcast is part of a larger mobile content distribution and promotion deal that Verizon Wireless and Vodafone have worked out with Warner Music International to promote the new album. Earlier this month, Verizon Wireless offered subscribers an exclusive "mobile underground remix" of the new Madonna single "4 Minutes," a song that also features Justin Timberlake.

A handful of lucky Verizon Wireless subscribers, who downloaded the full-song, ringtone, or ringback tone of "4 Minutes" through V Cast, have won tickets to the concert.

Verizon has been racking up deals with individual artists, such as Prince, Timberlake, John Legend, and Shakira, in an attempt to promote its music store and service. The company claims it is the second-largest music store on the market behind Apple's iTunes, with more than 3 million songs in its library. And in the first quarter of 2008, it sold a total of 34 million "units," which included ringtones, ringback tones and full music tracks, according to Ed Ruth, director of digital music for Verizon.

Mobile music, along with other data services like mobile Web surfing and e-mail, are important for Verizon as it tries to get its customers to spend more each month on additional services. So far, its efforts seem to be working. On Monday, the company reported that mobile data, which includes music downloads, accounted for over 20 percent of the company's total wireless revenue in the first quarter of 2008. And it said that customers on average spent nearly $12 a month on data services. These are fees that are above and beyond what customers pay for basic voice minutes.

While it's clear that mobile music can have big benefits for Verizon, the company also believes that it offers the music industry an opportunity it can't get using any other distribution method. As an example, Ruth noted the huge success of Shakira's 2006 single "Hips Don't Lie" when it was offered exclusively on V Cast. The song was originally offered as a ringback tone. And when it was eventually released as a full track and aired on the radio, demand was so strong for the song that it immediately hit the top of the charts when it was widely released, Ruth said.

"The big problem that the music industry is facing is that physical sales of music are failing," he said. "And digital music is trying to catch up. But what we offer is a unique ability to offer consumers content in multiple formats."

And it's this ability to sell the same piece of content in multiple ways that is likely the main reason that artists and record labels are working with mobile operators like Verizon. A consumer who really loves Madonna's "4 Minutes" single can spend $2.99 for a standard ringtone, $1.99 for a ringback tone, and another $1.99 if he buys the full track using his phone or 99 cents if he downloads it from his computer. (Verizon also offers a 20 percent discount for subscribers buying the song as both a ringtone and ringback tone.)

LAS VEGAS--Vodafone's CEO Arun Sarin shared a revelation during his keynote here at the CTIA trade show Wednesday.

"Something different is happening that will shape the future development of the industry and change who the successful companies are going to be and that's the mobile Internet," he said. "The mobile Internet is the new, new thing in the industry. And it is here for real and happening now."

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin addresses an audience at CTIA.

(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET Networks)

My initial reaction to his deep insight was "Duh, isn't providing Internet access to cell phones the reason why you and the rest of the carriers have been spending billions of dollars to build 3G high-speed networks? So what's the big surprise?

And then it dawned on me. While 3G was expected to allow cell phone users to access Internet-based content, mobile operators envisioned a different kind of Internet than the one consumers have come to know on their PCs."

Instead of allowing people to surf the open Internet and find the content and applications they wanted, cell phone operators wanted a world where they would be in complete control of the content and where their customers would go on the Internet. They would strike deals with content providers and act as gatekeepers, providing access to content that they chose. And as such, they would be able to charge a premium, not only for accessing the network, but also for the content itself.

So instead of encouraging customers to use their mobile phones as an extension of their Internet experience at home, carriers initially pushed new services like mobile music downloading and mobile TV. But the reality is that consumers aren't downloading a lot of music over wireless networks, and they aren't yet watching much TV on their mobile phones.

If Apple's iPhone has taught the industry anything, it's that people do want to access the Internet on their phones. And they want it to have the same look and feel that they're used to on their PCs at home.

In the past six months, operators have seen the writing on the wall of their "walled gardens." They recognize that consumers want access to the real Internet. They don't want some stripped down version of the Web. And as a result they're adapting.

Verizon Wireless, traditionally the most closed cell phone operator in the industry, is a prime example. The company said in November that it will open its network to any device and any application to spur innovation. And by extension the company is beginning to tear down the walls that have separated its subscribers from the real Internet.

Many of these changes are occurring now because the traditional PC-based Internet has changed the way in which people communicate with each other. And let's face it, people buy a cell phone primarily to communicate, not to listen to music, take pictures, or watch TV.

"Customers want to communicate in new ways, like IM, social networking, and videos," Sarin said during his speech. "That doesn't mean they aren't making phone calls. But in the communications industry, we need to provide them with all of their communications needs."

But Sarin acknowledged that the industry is still struggling to give customers what they really want. And he called on device makers, carriers, and application developers to work together to ensure that customers get what they want.

"The first thing we must do is deliver a world-class user experience," he said. "(Customers) expect us to deliver a mobile Internet service that is familiar. They want services to be compelling. They want a good user interface. And they want us to design Internet services for the mobile world."

Sarin's recommendations are a tall order to fill. The mobile market is much more fragmented than the PC market was when the Internet first developed. The mobile market has dozens of operating systems and hundreds of handset models. But the quicker the industry can deliver a "world-class experience," the faster mobile operators will see their bottom lines grow as customers fill those 3G pipes.

A group of investors in Vodafone Group want the European cell phone operator to spin off its stake in U.S.-based Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone owns a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, which has been adding subscribers rapidly and posting huge profits. Meanwhile, Vodafone's own global cell phone services have come under financial pressures.

A group of investors called ECS Assets, or Efficient Capital Structures, wants to see Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless spun off into a separate tracking stock. The group is getting help and support from the U.S. proxy firm Glass, Lewis & Co.

Right now, it looks as if ECS could have a tough road ahead in convincing enough shareholders that its proposals are a good idea.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that some of Vodafone's major shareholders in the U.K. have spoken out against ECS's proposals. And another large U.S. proxy-advisory firm called Institutional Shareholder Services, a unit of RiskMetrics Group, has recommended voting against all the ECS proposals, the article said.