Reports said on Wednesday that China Telecom Corp Ltd is planning to launch Apple Inc iPhone to its 106 million subscribers starting November this year.
This leap would actually help China Telecom, the smallest among the three Chinese telecommunications operators, to solidify their 3G market in China. Although the company operates the country’s largest fixed-line network, it is a newbie to the mobile market.
“The reason telecom operators are fighting for the iPhone business is because everybody is trying to grab as many 3G users as possible,” said Jane Wang, an analyst at UK-based research firm Ovum. “The only way to keep costs down is to build up such a user base.”
China Telecom’s shares, which have risen by about a fifth this year, extended earlier gains after Reuters exclusively reported the plan, rising as much as 5.5 percent to an intraday high of HK$4.95 and outperforming the Hang Seng Index’s 1 percent gain.
Furthermore, China Telecom said Wednesday that its president and CEO, Shang Bing, resigned to become the deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Currently, China Unicom is the only operator that offers iPhone after signing a three-year agreement with Apple in 2009 which is not based on a revenue-sharing scheme, unlike the common deal Apple has in any of the countries that offer its popular iDevice.
In May, China Telecom’s chairman, Wang Xiaochu, told a news conference that the carrier had contacted Apple to launch the iPhone based on CDMA (code division multiple access) technology.
“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 reporters.
It is expected that China Telecom will introduce the iPhone starting November. However, officials declined to comment on the rumor.
Check Out These Too:
- Apple Suspends all iPhone Sales in China This morning Apple announced that they are now officially suspending iPhone sales in China at all Apple store locations due to the reaction seen at one specific store. A brand…
- iPhone 4 Available from China Unicom Today For current users of the iPhone 4 in China, or those who live in the country and were thinking about getting one of the new devices, this could be great…
- iPhone MMS Update One of the most demanded service in the telecom sector has now at last reached the iPhone, which means that the iPhone is now capable of sending and receiving MMS…
- Apple Supplier Shuts Down Because Of Environmental Issues Apple has had a lot of problems and issues encountered in the past. These include of course, the death of Steve Jobs, the numerous battles with different companies, as well…
- Apple Reaching 30 Million iPhone Sales in a Quarter The iPhone has been an incredible hit for Apple. In the past few years it has become the top dog in terms of phone device sales and according to the…
- Apple to become World’s Largest Company Apple is already pretty well known and there are millions of people all around the world that own one of their products. Over the last few years, Apple has been…
- Apple Loses iPad Name in China Apple's iPad is far and away the hottest selling device of its kind everywhere in the world but now that Apple is beginning to move into China they're experiencing a…
- Amazon to release iPad rival in October The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Wednesday that Amazon, online retail titan, is going to release an ultimate rival to Apple's iPad. In a bid to carve a good part…
- Apple to make Mini iPhone 5 A new rumour has emerged about Apple today and that is regarding the iPhone device. It is thought that Apple will actually be releasing a version of the iPhone later…
- Apple CEO Steve Jobs Takes $1 Salary Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world and they have a wide range of premium products that have attracted hundreds of thousands of users overt eh…
- Why China has not its own Steve Jobs While millions of Chinese fans of Apple have complained about the disappearance of Steve Jobs, some of them have posed the question: why China has not its own "Steve Jobs"?…
- There's Going To Be A New iPhone 4? Apple fans and users around the world are going crazy over the recent launches and those that are still going to be launched this season by Apple. It's like a…
- Instagram Earns App of the Year Award Apple announced this week that they have officially selected their app of the year; Instagram is the app that took the coveted award and for good reason too. Instagram is…
- Is Apple Becoming More And More Pricey? As Apple gadgets advance in their quality and technology, it is said that consumers are also paying for what they're getting - even more! Apple wins consumers hearts over and…
- Apple iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 Problems iPhone 5 Release Date 2011 Apples iPhone device is one of the best phones on the market at the moment and since it was first released a few years ago,…
- Market share for Mac OS X in world grows at 6% and… Launch Mac OS X Lion has helped Apple to increase market share to about 13.5% in the United States and more than 6% worldwide, according to new statistics published by…
- Could the Apple iPhone 5 be launched in September? The iPhone is one of the most successful phones of all time and it has completely revolutionised the mobile phone market. With the last addition of the iPhone from Apple;…
- Android Gaining Points Over Apple? Apple is working double time. News about Apple is very unstable this week. If you haven't been reading to our other posts, some posts have been positive, while some just…
- Apple to start using Taiwan Company to Produce Processors Apple has a lot of products on the market at the moment that are using some of the best processors around at the moment. For example, all of their Macbook…
- Queen of England Wants iPad 2 Apple’s iPad has been one of the biggest selling products for the company yever and it is the second egenration of the original iPad product that completely changed the computer…
- Apple's market share is declining in continental… The difficult economic situation and european consumer sensitivity about prices affect the sales and market share of smartphone market Apple key on the continent, according to research firm Kantar Worldpanel…
- VERIZON IPHONE RELEASE DATE VERIZON IPHONE RELEASE DATE. Apple has recently launched the 4G version of the extremely popular iPhone worldwide. iPhone 4G sold like hot cakes around the world right upon its arrival.…
- Apple beats Blackberry in Smartphone sales For a long time now, Blackberry has been one of the most popular Smartphone’s on the market and they are manufactured by a company named RIM. One of the things…
- Apple See’s Huge Profits but Shares Fall Apple, the company behind many popular electronic devices including the iPhone and the iPod Touch devices has seen a huge boost in profits. The company posted their results for the…
- Thousands Plan to Protest Apple Following last week's horrible PR about working conditions of employees, many customers and companies are now considering a protest or boycott of Apple until conditions improve. This is one of…
- Italy in an Uproar About iPhone App Apps can be great fun, or they can be really useful tools to help get you through your day. Whatever you use them for, most of us couldn't live without…
- Latest Update on Next Apple iPhone 5 Previously, when Apple has released new products such as the iPhone 4s or the iPad 3 device, we have seen people queuing up at their shops for hours in advance.…
- Should You Buy An IPhone Now, Or Wait For The Next Version? You may have recently gotten information from your mobile phone company about getting the iPhone 5 for just $99 – companies like Verizon and AT&T Wireless have recently been offering…
- Apple Thought to have bought iCloud.com There has been rumour for a while now that Apple is planning to release their own cloud music sharing service that would allow songs and other files to be shared…
- The Rise of Cheap Iphone’s The Iphone, one of the world’s top of the line, best-selling smart phones in the market. Apple has created a way to combine cell phone, email, internet and other information…
