Apple can now sell iPhones with the world’s largest 4G network China Mobile. This is such a relief after months and series of negotiations just to seal the deal.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has granted its biggest network carrier, China Mobile, along with a couple of smaller local network carriers, with 4G mobile network licenses.
Through this, China mobile can now set out TD-LTE technology that will push faster downloads, higher-priced voice and data plans, and win over handset makers like Apple and Samsung.
According to an e-mail sent by Raine Lei, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for China Mobile, to Bloomberg: “China Mobile and Apple have continuously been engaged in talks on cooperation and currently there is no information that can be disclosed.”
Carolyn Wu, a Beijing-based Apple spokesperson, declined to comment.
The report says that the 4G network can cover 100 cities with 500 million people this year, with the possibility of weighing on the network’s incomes in the past years since it can entice subscribers with subsidies for new gadgets.
Tucker Grinnan, a Hong Kong-based analyst with HSBC Holdings Plc., said in a phone interview with Bloomberg, “With the expense of setting up the 4G network, there is going to be pressure to load the network and encourage customers to migrate faster than they normally would. The start of 4G service will mean more pressure on profits.”
Sources of the Wall Street Journal said that China Mobile and Apple Inc. have already signed a deal that prompts the latter company to start selling iPhone with 4G LTE wireless network later this month. This is a great deal for the Cupertino-based company as the Chinese carrier has about 759 million wireless subscribers.
“In the long term, it is important for China Mobile to improve its cost structure by migrating users to 4G,” Huang Leping, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., said in an e-mail. “The Apple deal should help China Mobile to retain its high average revenue users.”
