China Mobile To Release 4G Service With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones; Sprint Customers Declining

Mizuho Securities Analyst Marvin Lo in Hong Kong said that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s deal with China Mobile Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:CHL) would give it a big increase in the China market as the largest local carrier has the largest number of users. He added that at least 10% or 70 million wealthier ones would be potential customers for iPhones among China Mobile’s more than 700 million mobile subscribers.

By using the nation’s home grown flavor of LTE called TD-LTE, China Mobile will unveil its 4G network. With existing 4G LTE, the carrier technology is unsuited, an attempt by China to avoid paying patent royalities to Qualcomm, much as it former did with its version of 3G service “TD-SCDMA”.

For TD-LTE, Apple (AAPL)’s iPhone 5s and 5c specifically include support and in early September, China’s Telecom Equipment Certification Center approved the two models. Addition of the two new iPhones is a small minority of devices competent of working on China Mobile’s 4G network and licensed by the state.

According to Consumer Reports’ survey released on Thursday, Sprint Corporation (NYSE:S) attained “dreary marks” in voice, text messaging, 4G reliability and value. However, last year, Sprint ranked No. 2 behind Verizon Wireless. The company is in the middle of upgrading its network to offer improved and faster service to customers, but the transformation has been bumpy for users. That’s why in the last few years, many have left the carrier.

A Sprint representative commented on the Consumer Reports’ survey by saying that they’re not necessarily surprising but disappointing. The company is hopeful that declining rate of customers will get better with improvement in the network. Last month, the company demonstrated Sprint Spark, its enhanced LTE network, to stimulate interest for its next-generation network.

Once again, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is on top of the list, although Verizon recently admitted that it was facing pressures in big cities like San Francisco and New York. Consumer Reports said that T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) attained “ho-hum” results but for 4G reliability, AT&T was the lone carrier to get a top rating. About offering both the fastest and most reliable network in the nation, AT&T has been advertising a lot while to pair with HSPA+ network, T-Mobile has built out its 4G LTE network.

According to survey, many customers are overpaying for their data, with 38 percent of users surveyed using half or less than half of their monthly data plans.

source: http://www.consensuspress.com/china-mobile-to-release-4g-service-with-apple-inc-nasdaqaapls-iphones-sprint-customers-declining/252602/

The world’s largest mobile carrier, China Mobile, may finally be preparing to sell Apple’s iPhone

China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless carrier, plans to introduce a new brand for mobile services on 18 December, the Wall Street Journal reported on 21 November. The brand is widely expected to be Apple.

The two companies have been in talks about an iPhone for China Mobile for years, but China Mobile has been well behind US carriers in offering 4G, and its 3G network is incompatible with the iPhone’s technology. (Millions of consumers have still attached iPhones to the network, but they can only run at 2G speeds.)

4G licences

“China Mobile executives have said iPhone subscriptions likely would come only after the company introduces its 4G platform. Chinese media, including Nanfang Daily, recently reported that China may issue 4G licences next week,” said the report.

Ericsson announced on 19 November that it has been selected by China Mobile to deploy LTE TDD technology in “15 key provinces in China [that are] home to 63 percent of China’s population and include the top three provinces in terms of [gross domestic product].”

Ericsson said it will be the world’s largest LTE TDD network deployment, and that the deployment has already begun.In September, rumours of an imminent iPhone for China Mobile were furthered when China’s Telecom Equipment Certification Centre gave Apple the final licence it needed for the iPhone to operate on the China Mobile network, the Journal reported on 11 September.

The ability to sell the iPhone to China Mobile’s 759 million subscribers (as of October) would position Apple for significant growth. In smartphone sales, Apple has fallen well behind competitor Samsung, which is the top-selling smartphone maker globally as well as in China – now the largest smartphone market in the world.

China is currently Apple’s second-largest market, but it’s expected to become its first. “I strongly believe that,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook told reporters in January during a trip to China, during which Cook is said to have met with executives at China Mobile.

Market share battle

Apple’s market share during the third quarter dropped to 13 percent from 14 percent a year earlier, but the company’s newest iPhones, the 5S and 5C, weren’t available for the whole of the quarter, and all the major carriers reported receiving limited shipments of the more-popular iPhone 5S.

Supply constraints, and concerns over how quickly China Mobile’s 4G network will be iPhone-ready, have caused Forbes contributor Chuck Jones to caution that reports of an 18 December China Mobile iPhone introduction may be premature.

“One of the key questions is, if China Mobile and Apple were to announce their partnership, would the 200,000 TD-LTE base stations that it plans to have in place by the end of the year, which could handle 4 million active users, be enough for the initial iPhone demand,” Jones wrote in a 22 November post.

source: http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/report-china-mobile-announce-iphone-next-month-132579