By Telecom Lead Team: China Telecom, the only CDMA2000 mobile telecom carrier in China, has announced that it will commence the sale of CDMA-based iPhone 4S from March 9 onwards. The online reservations for the phone will start from March 2.
In an official release, Apple has also confirmed the availability of all three sizes of iPhone with China Telecom. China Telecom will provide iPhone 4S with a two- or three-year contract.
The availability of iPhone 4S has positioned China Telecom as the second official supplier of iPhone in the country. Prior to China Telecom, China Unicom was the sole supplier of iPhone 4S in China.
China Telecom has rolled out two and three year service contracts for its subscribers. The teleco said that users, who sign a two-year contract, can gain the 16GB smartphones for free if they subscribe to the package with monthly cost of CNY389. Also, users can get the 32GB version products if they subscribe to the package with a monthly cost of CNY489.
For those who sign a three-year contract, will get the 16GB or 32GB products by subscribing to the package with monthly cost of CNY289; or they can gain the 64GB products by subscribing to the package with a monthly cost of CNY389.
The teleco said that it will offer more package choices to users in near future.
The company added that users will be able to buy the iPhone 4S with contracts from stores authorized by China Telecom or from its Internet site at 189.cn.
In an official release, the company said it will enhance its related investment in marketing to promote the scale development of mobile businesses with the launch of iPhone 4S.
Additionally, it is expected to bring short-term profit pressure to the company. However, it emphasized that the introduction of iPhone will stimulate its long-term sustainable development.
In a recent announcement, China Telecom said that it will procure 45 million 3G smartphones, of which most will be for sale at $111-316, in 2012.
