iPhonAsia comment: Cindy Geng of Interfax has provided timely reports on the iPhone in China negotiations. See iPhonAsia reply to post below
by Cindy Geng
Beijing. March 6. INTERFAX-CHINA -
EXCERPT: The chairman of China Unicom has confirmed that the operator is holding talks with Apple over officially introducing the iPhone to China, while rival operator China Mobile has also claimed its iPhone negotiations with Apple are still underway. Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, said on March 4 that the result of China Unicom’s talks with Apple will be announced on May 17, although he refused to reveal any details of what kind of deal the talks entail.
However, Wang Jianzhou, president of China Mobile, said on March 5 that his company is still in talks with Apple over releasing the iPhone. “We hope the iPhone can be used in China Mobile’s network, and Apple has demonstrated its will,” Wang said. Read full post > HERE
Comments (Total 1 comments)
Mon 09 Mar 2009 05:35
According to my tea leaf readings (i.e. total guesswork), Apple may have two China carrier deals to announce in the coming weeks or months…
1) The well publicized deal with China Unicom
2) Another with “Cinderella” otherwise known as China Telecom (Yes, a CDMA2000 EV-DO iPhone). Many have dismissed the possibility of an Apple and China Telecom alliance. I do not. China Telecom, has a mere 28 million wireless subscribers (primarily in Southern provinces). This is a small number when compared to China Mobile (463 million) and China Unicom (134 million). So what might entice Apple to do a deal with China Telecom? How about 40 million relatively affluent broadband subscribers, 210 million landline subscribers, and a brand new WiFi for mobile service – eSurfing! The new eSurfing service plan is available to PCs, Macs and mobile phones. China Telecom has also kicked off an array of eSurfing promotions under which subscribers to the wireless broadband monthly plans and the voice service (under eSurfing) are entitled to 300-minutes of talk time each month at no charge. Combining CDMA2000 3G and WiFi is part of China Telecom’s core strategy.
What about Apple’s ongoing “cooperation talks” with China Mobile? A deal with China Mobile could still could happen, but TD-SCDMA network issues remain problematic. I believe that Apple has gone to great lengths, including dedicating engineering resources to TD-SCDMA and possibly some design/build efforts. However, China Mobile may have too clearly telegraphed their “rapidly as possible” move to TD LTE 4G … which gives any spend on TD-SCDMA handsets a limited life span (2 years or so). There is also the issue of network reliability. TD-SCDMA is a nascent network with usability challenges (to put it politely) and Apple wants to start off any official launch in China with a very positive enduser experience. Apple knows that network issues can undeservedly tarnish the reputation of the mobile handset. In fact, China Mobile has blamed many of the early problems with TD-SCDMA on handsets.
Bottom line… unless China Mobile were to commit to a substantial pre-purchase for inventory of a special TD-SCDMA iPhone (TD iPhone 3G), then Apple would be reluctant to move forward with TD-SCDMA. I believe the TD-SCDMA issue is at least as pertinent as any debate over who controls value added services and the App Store.
Another long shot possibility is that Apple could launch an EDGE 2.5 iPhone Nano with China Mobile that would not carry any TD-SCDMA concerns. There are many interesting possibilities.
~ Dan Butterfield, iPhonAsia
Dan, after Apple enters the China handset market do you think Apple will want to then offer a scaled down iPhone in the $100 price range to go after the mid priced market which is the biggest market segment in China.
You’re talking Nano iPhone.
I have a post on topic here >
http://idannyb.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/iphone-nano-rumor-heats-up/
There are many reasons why a “Nano” iPhone does not make sense (e.g. screen too small, at least by Western Standards) … yet there are reasons why it might fly in China, India, and many parts of Southeast Asia.
Regardless of the size (“Even the small talk will be big!”) of any new iPhone model(s) that might be introduced the summer of 2009, I believe that Apple intends to address the truly massive numbers of prepaid wireless users in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines.
Pre-paid wireless users are not under contract and don’t pay a monthly package fee for service. Prepaid users buy the airtime as they need it and generally do not have to pay a deposit for service. Topping up prepaid accounts is often done by going on-line, or by phone, bank machine or with a prepaid SIM card.
Apple COO Tim Cook addressed the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference in late February 2008. He hinted that Apple would address the pre-paid market. The two largest pre-paid markets are India and China. Approximately 2/3rds of China Mobile’s 462 million subscribers are pre-paid.
Tim Cook:
“When you look at some of the international markets, you find that the markets are very different … you might find one where there is no post pay business … or minimal (post pay) … that might need a different business model. You might find one (market) where being exclusive might not be in our best interest.?And so I am not announcing what we will and won’t do … I am announcing that we are going to intelligently think about each one (each market) and then decide what is best for the company to do … And I will tell you that there is no shortage of interest in the iPhone by the carriers. You know I think that they see it as an enormous way to increase ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) on their system … I think they see it as a fundamental, revolutionary device that gets people interested in data and really using their (the carriers’) network.”
By the way … I am very optimistic about closure of an iPhone deal with China Unicom … soon! China Unicom execs were rumored to be in Cupertino this week. The question now is will it be an “exclusive” in China?