China Telecom to Launch iPhone Near End of Year

[MacRumors]

Reuters reports that China Telecom is close to a deal with Apple for distribution of the iPhone in China. The iPhone is presently available in China on China Unicom, so the addition of a second carrier would help Apple expand their reach in that country.

Reuters' sources indicate that the negotiations are ongoing but that it is expected to happen this year.

"It's expected to happen this year. China Telecom already has the required technology and it all hinges on the content of the agreement. As we all know, it's not easy to negotiate with Apple," a source close to the company, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Wednesday.

The 3rd major Chinese mobile phone carrier has also been rumored to be in discussions with Apple.

Article Link: China Telecom to Launch iPhone Near End of Year

 

[tonyunreal]

I really do hope that China Telecom get the new iPhone this year, technically the Verizon iPhone 4 almost got everything it needs to run on CT's network, except for a UIM card slot.

My company develops mobile payment solutions for CT, however our solutions require a custom built UIM card, if the rumors are true and the iPhone 5 does have an CT model, I think our business could see a huge boost next year.

 

[appleguy123]

Why is the iPhone's addition to a 600,000,000 person market not front page news?

 

[spiritshao]

中国需要China Unicom之外的另一家iPhone运营商.CU的服务质量is terrible！

 

[Detlev]

Wouldn't this explain the recent iPhone 4+ and possibly iPad HD rumors. The timing (September/October) is all wrong for another US release but if there is another very large market to be opened that would explain much.

 

[itsalexaye]

shouldnt this be on the front page?

 

[kdarling]

Why is the iPhone's addition to a 600,000,000 person market not front page news?

Don't know why it's not front page. However, it's not that big a market.

China Telecom is a smaller carrier with fewer 3G subscribers, so it's more comparable to, say, Sprint or even T-Mobile getting the iPhone.

Plus, China Unicom has had the iPhone for a while now, and many people who wanted one went with them. Even then, sales were not great.

So analysts only seem to expect about 13-20 million new iPhone buyers with China Telecom.

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