It’s UK iPhone week, and Matthew Key, CEO of O2, the network that has the handset exclusively, has given an interview to Telegraph.co.uk on how the carrier secured the deal. Tidbits:-

—Driving data: Key: ‘‘When we left [a meeting with Steve Jobs] two hours later, I said to Cesar Alierta [CEO of parent Telefonica], ‘that’s a device I’ve got to offer. In the UK market, where the top four networks have pretty much equal shares, it offers a great way for me to get a hell of a lot of high-value customers on to O2 and drive up data usage [to help offset pressure on voice call revenues]’.”

—Lighbulb moment: “When Apple’s (NSDQ: AAPL) executives visited the [O2 Arena/Millennium Dome] for an iPhone meeting, it was the blue lightbulbs in the white sofas of the VIP lounge that most impressed them. ‘’We were in the bar talking about how many iterations of this blue bulb we went through to get the colour just right for our brand,’ laughs Key. ‘And they said later that they realised then just how passionate we are, like them, about our brand in terms of obsessive attention to detail.’”

—A wise move?: “There is ‘‘no question’, he says, whether O2 will make money over the lifetime of the contract, during which he expects three-quarters of iPhone customers to come from other networks. ‘‘For me to sign a – whatever it is –‘madly money-losing deal’, well, it’s almost a slight on my professional integrity, isn’t it? Why would I do that?’”

—Mystery: “It later emerged [Apple] had already mystery-shopped all the networks’ stores in the UK – something Jobs did for himself following a subsequent meeting with Key in London’s West End.”