As Telstra's rivals prepare for their 11 July 3G iPhone launches, the national carrier remains silent over speculation that it derailed a deal with Apple to resell the device.

Telstra had arranged a substantial 3G iPhone order with Apple before negotiations broke down between the two parties due to disagreements on whether a Telstra iPhone would come preloaded with Sensis content, an anonymous source told The Australian Financial Review.

A spokesperson for the telco today refused to comment on the report, saying that Telstra had "nothing more to add" on the iPhone at this stage.

Guy Cranswick, media platform and channels analyst for research group IBRS, believes that any possible dispute between Apple and Telstra could be classed as a "classic cyber-territory issue".

"The negotiation over the content issue would come down to whether or not Apple thought it possible to achieve all of its marketing and sales objectives without Telstra," he said.

"Given its position in the market, Telstra would be an important partner for Apple to have on-board, but Apple has always been very intent on keeping total brand integrity as well," added Cranswick.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.