Apple is persisting in efforts to expand iPhone sales before the end of 2009, reports note. Singapore is set to gain a third iPhone carrier in the form of StarHub, which will join competition with M1 and SingTel by the end of the year. Vodafone has announced a deal for Qatar, making it the first iPhone carrier in the Middle Eastern country. A local launch could slip into 2010.

Japanese carrier Softbank has meanwhile revealed that it signed up more new subscribers in October than any of its rivals, continuing a three-month trend. Some 97,500 subscribers (minus cancellations) were added during the month, beating out eAccess' 80,000, NTT DoCoMo's 55,100, and KDDI's 27,500. Softbank attributes the growth to the iPhone, which it still holds as an exclusive in Japan. Many countries, such as Canada and the UK, have already evolved beyond single-carrier arrangements.