China Mobile has finally signed a deal to offer Apple iPhones on its network, an agreement that took years to reach, reports
the Wall Street Journal. China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile
carrier, with more than 700 million subscribers, and is the last of
China’s three major carriers to offer the iPhone. We have emailed Apple
and China Mobile for more information.
The reported deal comes after two months of signs that the rollout of
iPhone’s on China Mobiles network is imminent. The launch date is
expected to coincide with the Dec. 18 China Mobile conference in
Guangzhou, when the carrier is supposed to reveal more information about
its new 4G LTE network.
In September, the WSJ reported that Apple is preparing to ship the
iPhone 5S and 5C to China Mobile and earlier this week, China Mobile
began quietly taking pre-orders for both models on a website owned by one of its subsidiaries.
China’s top three carriers recently received licenses from the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to start operating 4G
networks. In September, reports emerged that Apple’s newest iPhone models
will be compatible with China Mobile’s network. The completion of its
4G network was an important sticking point for China Mobile to agree to
start selling iPhones. One of the major roadblocks was that China Mobile
operates on a different 3G standard that was developed in part by the
Chinese government, and Apple said that the carrier’s proprietary
network as too unreliable. China Mobile, on the other hand, did not want
to agree to Apple’s sales volume guarantees.
China is currently Apple’s third biggest market and CEO Tim Cook has said he anticipates it
will eventually become the company’s largest. But over the past year,
Apple has quickly lost market share there to Android handsets from
Samsung and domestic handset makers, as its revenue also slowed down in
the U.S. But deal with China Mobile may give it a boost. Research firm
Trefis says the deal with the carrier may result in the sale of an
additional 20 million iPhones in 2014, a 17% increase from the year
before.
Tweet Follow @punshcomempower
50% off Hosting for your Website at GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
Host a site without stress on namecheap eApps|YOUR APP HOSTING PROVIDER
Submit your Website
Free webmaster resources including SEO Tools, Computer Glossary, Templates Sign up to BIGTIMEBUX today!
0 comments:
Post a Comment