China Telecom maintains interest in iPhone
updated 11:50 am EDT, Wed July 21, 2010
Plans likely dependent on Verizon-capable model
China Telecom is interested in carrying the iPhone, even if it isn't a rush, claims an unnamed official from the carrier. "If we can have an iPhone, that would be good, but we'll just wait and see," the person comments. In May the company's CEO, Wang Xiaochu, said that the company might pursue the iPad in formal talks if market response proved adequate. To date over 3.27 million iPads have been sold globally.
The company's major obstacle to selling the iPhone remains networking technology, as it relies on the CDMA standard, whereas current iPhones are GSM-based. Plans may thus be dependent on Apple building an iPhone for Verizon, the United States' largest CDMA carrier. Reports have steadily mounted in favor of a Verizon release as soon as this fall, or possibly in early 2011.
