There was another terse announcement from Apple on Monday morning, revealing the names of yet more operator partners which will be carrying the iPhone.

Optus, SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Globe have all signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Australia, Singapore, India and the Philippines respectively later this year.

No further information was released, leaving questions on the appearance of a 3G iPhone still hanging.

But it does look as is Apple has had to rethink its business model for certain markets. Along with the deal struck with Vodafone and TIM earlier this month, multiple carriers will now be selling the device in Australia and India as well as Italy. This is presumably because these markets also have such a high proportion of prepaid mobile users that selling the device on a subscription only basis and through one carrier would be unviable.

In related news stocks of the existing 8GB and 16GB iPhone have also dried up at the Apple stores in both the US and UK as well as at the operator shops, although T-Mobile and Orange are still selling the device in Germany and France. This is leading to renewed speculation that Apple might be releasing a new version of the device imminently rather than waiting for the big summer Apple event next month.