Apple, China Mobile agree on 4G iPhone

PanARMENIAN.Net - China Mobile Ltd. said Thursday, May 19, it has reached consensus with Apple Inc. on using its fourth-generation technology on iPhones to be offered by the Chinese mobile services provider.

However, China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou said talks with Apple on launching the iPhone remain ongoing. He also declined to elaborate on exactly what has been agreed with Apple.

Apple representatives weren't immediately reachable for comment.

Wang told reporters that there are over 4 million China Mobile customers using the iPhone. Currently, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU) is the only Chinese mobile operator to offer them.

Wang also said the company plans to start commercial trials of the 4G technology it is promoting, called time-division long term evolution, or TD-LTE, in China beginning next year.

Global telecommunications carriers are in the process of launching services based on LTE technology, which promises faster data download than third-generation networks.

China Mobile also said it plans to invest CNY10 billion this year to developing Wi-Fi infrastructure in China, MarketWatch reported.