Here we go again. Apple has been trying to crack the China market with its iPhone for almost as long as the iPhone 3G has been around. With multiple rounds of reported negotiations between Apple and Chinese wireless carriers having fruited little more than speculation, the folks in Cupertino have yet to lay claim to China’s mobile market. Today, China Unicom (China’s runner-up wireless carrier) CEO Chang Xiaobing confirmed that his company has indeed been talking things over with Apple – presumably regarding an iPhone on China Unicom’s network.
“We are in talks with many handset suppliers, including Apple,” Chang said at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The confirmation of a Chinese carrier’s on-going talks with Apple has again sparked speculation that Apple is ready to bring its iPhone to China. China Mobile, China’s government-backed wireless market-leader, has reportedly shunned Apple on several occasions over revenue control issues, leaving room for China Unicom to enter as a potential iPhone carrier. China Unicom is also working to roll out a nationwide 3G network based on the same WCDMA technology that the iPhone 3G uses, which bodes well for the No. 2 Chinese wireless carrier taking on the iPhone 3G.
China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network would require Apple to either allow its iPhone 3G to run on a slower 2G network or develop and manufacture a completely new iPhone that is fully compatible with China Mobile’s network. In either case, an iPhone on China Mobile’s network seems more like a compromise than a tactical advantage. Although, China Mobile does boast the world’s largest network with a 415 million-strong subscriber-base. Such a monstrous market may prove too tempting for Apple to resist a stab at capturing a significant chunk of the world’s single-largest mobile market. China Unicom’s network has only 168 million users (which still eclipses any US wireless carrier by an order of magnitude), in comparison.
All eyes are on China Unicom to deliver an iPhone 3G to China. Perhaps China Unicom is the reason for Apple’s recent iPhone production ramp-up?
[Via: CNNMoney]