China Mobile to finally get the Apple iPhone?

posted by Alan F. / Nov 21, 2013, 11:24 AM

China Mobile to finally get the Apple iPhone?

Even though China Mobile is the world's largest carrier, its unique TD-SCDMA 3G network prevented it from offering customers the Apple iPhone. But with China Mobile holding an event on December 18th to start a new mobile brand, a published report on Thursday suggests that the mobile operator could use this opportunity to introduce the Apple iPhone to its customers.

Part of the problem now is the Chinese government's sluggishness to approve 4G licenses for its carriers. Apple received approval to run the iPhone over China Mobile's LTE network months ago, but right now there is no LTE signal for the iPhone to run on. Media reports in the country suggest that China could issue its 4G licenses as soon as next week.

Selling the iPhone on China Mobile could give Apple a big shot in the arm.The nation as a whole has a smartphone penetration rate of under 50% and China Mobile itself has 750 million subscribers, many of whom would be interested in Apple's iconic smartphone. Currently, the iPhone is available in China from China Telecom and China Unicom.

"A deal with China Mobile would give Apple a big boost in the China market as the largest local carrier has the most wealthy subscriber base. I estimate that among China Mobile’s more than 700 million mobile subscribers, at least 10% or 70 million wealthier ones would be potential customers for iPhones."-Marvin Lo, analyst, Mizuho Securitues

source: WSJ