November 10 marked the day that O2 lost its grip as the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK, a title it held for 2 years and one day. The first competitor to enter the scene is Orange UK who is offering little savings over O2 for those wishing to sign up.

Orange announced via a Twitter account that it had sold 30,000 iPhone units today, what it claims was a UK record for handset sales in the UK.

Meanwhile O2 was today allowing customers to unlock their iPhones for use on other networks although existing contracts will have to be seen through.