Apple already sells the iPhone in China through its 2009 agreement with China Unicom and its pact earlier this year with China Telecom.
Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people) signed a contract with China Telecom to provide 500 Cisco 12000 and 12400 Internet routers.
In Hong Kong, telecom plays were among the outperformers, with China Telecom rising 4.1% on news it would begin offering Apple's popular iPhone 4S next month.
We have an excellent relationship with China -- with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, China Telecom and various provincial and municipal bodies and telecommunications authorities.
While Apple already has deals with two Chinese mobile operators - China Unicom and China Telecom - it is yet to strike a partnership with China Mobile, the biggest operator in the world in terms of subscriber volume.
It primarily competes with China Unicom and China Telecom.
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Checks with value chain suppliers indicate China Telecom should be ready to debut a CDMA iPhone 4S as soon as February 2012, even though the launch could be delayed to mid-2012, read the note released Monday, dispelling rumors that a CDMA iPhone could rock the Chinese market in the fourth quarter.
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The9, established in 1999 as one of the leading game developers and operators in China, has stepped into the mobile internet field and now working with major telecom carriers and application distribution channels in China with high speed growth.
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Low 3G penetration of about 15% in China is giving smaller wireless carriers such as China Telecom ample opportunity to compete on an even ground with the otherwise dominant China Mobile.
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Of course, it all depends on whether Xiaomi can scale its business model for the unknown territories, and it'll certainly need some solid partners to do so -- much like its collaboration with local retail channels China Unicom, China Telecom and Vancl.
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With this convergence of mobile and landline businesses, China Telecom hopes to achieve long term growth by increasing its subscriber base, establishing its market position as well as gaining competitive advantage.
But challenges include the long-awaited shake-up of China's telecoms sector, which could see the market becoming fiercely competitive with the entry of fixed-line and broadband providers China Telecom and China Netcom.
Significant progress was recently made on this front with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (China's telecom regulator), announced plans to release the entire 190MHz of their 2.5GHz spectrum for TDD-LTE deployments in China and their adoption of the same Band 41 format advocated by Clearwire and other GTI members around the globe including Softbank Mobile (Softbank).
But with about 230 million and 150 million subscribers, respectively, China Unicom and China Telecom are dwarfed by China Mobile, which is hoping to move its subscribers en masse to faster 3G and LTE networks next year.
That could make Google attractive in Asia and other fast-growing markets, with China Mobile (nyse: CHL - news - people ) and Orange Telecom--which has a large presence in the developing world--likely to become Google partners.
Armed with the iPhone 4S, the Lumia as well as a horde of cheaper Android handsets, China Telecom looks set to ride the widespread 3G transition in the coming years.
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Mr Perret said France Telecom had partnered with Baidu because the search firm had helped mobile networks in in its home market of China cope with a similar switch from basic mobiles to low-end smartphones.
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