Sam Oliver
China Mobile officials are reportedly "aggressively negotiating with Apple to sell the iPhone," but the carrier's non-standard unique 3G wireless technology remains a roadblock, according to Reuters. But the launch of the carrier's 4G TD-LTE network is expected to be a "precursor to a deal with Apple."
With more than 600 million subscribers, China Mobile is the largest prize in the world among wireless carriers. That compares to 117 million total subscribers at China Telecom, which was announced as a new official iPhone carrier on Monday.
China Telecom will begin offering the iPhone 4S at a fully-subsidized price starting March 9. Its freshly inked deal with Apple marks the end of exclusivity for China Unicom, which has offered the iPhone since 2009.
China Telecom is the third-largest wireless carrier in China, as China Unicom has more than 160 million subscribers. But even combined, the two of them are not even half of the more than 600 million subscribers who use China Mobile.
The total number of mobile subscribers in China is expected to top 1 billion this year. But as the market has grown, Apple's market share has reportedly slipped over the last two quarters, hampered by its availability on just one carrier.
China has become an increasingly important part of Apple's business, and the nation has been a particular area of focus for the company's chief executive, Tim Cook. In the last quarter, Cook described China's demand for the company's products, particularly the iPhone, as "staggering."
Amber Neely
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
26 Comments
Sounds like a tidal wave is coming.
SoftBank, one of the two iPhone carriers in Japan, is using a variation of the TD-LTE that is China Mobile is using for '4G'. I wonder if both will be included on the iPhone when LTE is released or if that will come farther down the line.
As I recall, China Mobile has been holding out because they want a cut of App Store sales from Apple. You have to keep in mind that China Mobile is partially owned by the Chinese government.... They want kickbacks and gratuities for "the pleasure and privilege of doing business in China".
As I recall, China Mobile has been holding out because they want a cut of App Store sales from Apple. You have to keep in mind that China Mobile is partially owned by the Chinese government.... They want kickbacks and gratuities for "the pleasure and privilege of doing business in China".
Actually, I think all 3 carriers are significantly owned by the government.
Actually, I think all 3 carriers are significantly owned by the government.
You're probably right, although China Mobile is so massive it's really the one that counts. It's like the Chinese AT&T.