Apple sold37 million iPhoneslast quarter, making it thetop smartphone manufacturerin the world by volume. But interestingly enough, the record-breaking number didn’t include any sales from mainland China.
Marbridge Consultingis reporting that sources inside China Telecom have revealed that the carrier has reached an agreement with Apple to offer a CDMA version of its iPhone 4S. In fact, according to the source, China Telecom has already started accepting iPhone 4S preorders from government and enterprise customers, and is preparing for a first quarter [2012] consumer launch.
Update:It’s now official. Apple reached an agreement with China Telecom. SeePress Releasebelow.
BEIJING – China Telecom Corp Ltd, the nation’s third-largest mobile operator, revealed it may launch the code division multiple access (CDMA) version of Apple Inc’s iPhone 4S in the Chinese mainland as early as February.
In a news release on Monday, Beijing Telecom Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China Telecom, said the CDMA-version iPhone 4S is likely to hit the domestic market by the end of February, or at the beginning of March. However, no pricing details were disclosed.“China Telecom has already started preparatory work for the launch of the iPhone 4S,” according to the press release.
Experts pointed out that it is possible for China Telecom to present the iPhone 4S as soon as possible, since the device, built for the company’s CDMA2000 network, has already obtained all three required operating licenses.
The CDMA2000 wireless standard is the 3G network technology used by China Telecom.
In mid-January, the China Radio Management Office granted Apple’s application for a handset that operates on the CDMA2000 network standard. China’s Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center later granted the company the second permit.On Monday, the CDMA-version iPhone 4S gained the final license, which recognizes the device as qualified and can now be sold on the Chinese mainland, according to the website of the China Compulsory Certification Online Service Center.
“Now China Telecom is almost ready for everything (to sell iPhone 4S),” said Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert who runs a web portal focusing on the Chinese telecom industry.
“Launching the iPhone 4S on China Telecom’s own network will stop customers running to China Unicom and help attract new clients from domestic rivals,” Wang said.
China Telecom had 36.3 million 3G users by that date, compared with 51.2 million for China Mobile Ltd.
