“China Mobile Ltd. has signed a long-awaited deal with Apple Inc. to offer iPhones on its network, a person familiar with the situation said, an arrangement that would give the U.S. technology giant a big boost in the world’s largest mobile market,” Lorraine Luk and Daisuke Wakabayashi report for The Wall Street Journal.
“The rollout of iPhones on the world’s largest mobile carrier by users, with over 700 million subscribers, is expected to start later this month, around the time of a Dec. 18 China Mobile conference in Guangzhou, according to two people familiar with the carrier’s plans,” Luk and Wakabayashi report. “China Mobile is one of the world’s last major carriers that doesn’t offer the iPhone.”
“At the Dec. 18 event, China Mobile plans to unveil a brand for its fourth-generation, or 4G, network. China Mobile executives have said they would only begin to sell the iPhone after introducing 4G services. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Wednesday it gave licenses to China Mobile and its smaller rivals to operate the higher-speed mobile networks, clearing one of the last hurdles,” Luk and Wakabayashi report. “A deal with China Mobile would give Apple access to a subscriber base that is seven times the size of Verizon Wireless, the U.S.’s largest carrier”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Boom!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Will it be up $10 or down $10 tomorrow? I never expect rationality with AAPL.
The market was anticipating, will be up at first.
I’ll say down to $540, find something to be disappointed about!
Judging by the past i would say its going to be a sell on the news day.
Analyst now will say that there is a issues in productions so AAPL will go down $10
Site said “Dispatched: 3-5 business days”, but delivery was less than 39 hours later for my 5s (A1457) in EU this morning – including cross-border, cross-water shipping. So I’m wild-guessing that production and JIT build-to-market is agile and well set to roll whenever China Mobile is ready.
i say with the good news, the price per share will fall precipitously, that is, if history can provide any insight.
up 6 – not bad…
Doesn’t look to be making a difference in pre market trading…has this news already been baked into apple stock? I hope not…tomorrow will be a big day to see if stock can keep its momentum.
Premarket isn’t open yet.
Boom Boom Boom.
Boom to Samscum, boom to google, boom to Ichan too.
Here’s to shareholder value unleashed!
Great job Tim !!!!
This is due to Tim, not Steve. Naysayers can retire to the antechamber.
There shore be lotsa echoes commin’ out o’ Auntie’s Chamber!
I wonder who blinked in the negotiations? It was said that the Chinese side wanted some percentage of the in country App Store sales. Does anyone know the terms of this current deal between Apple and China Mobile? Since the Chinese government is behind everything, privacy issues were probably significant.
> Since the Chinese government is behind everything, privacy issues were probably significant.<
Which may be true but, sorry to say, the USA (and UK, Oz, NZ and Canada) has lost its preaching rights on this one.
Yes I mean there is barely a fag paper between the freedoms of those citizens and China is there. I guess as they say you only know what you had when you lose it. For all the criticism we can level at the West it is but an asterisk to the lack of freedom in places like China. If in doubt just go to Tiananmen Square and ask a few questions it will be a totally different experience for the over whelming majority than asking similar questions in Parliament Square I can tell you. And don’t start me on Snowden and his costing up to the Russian Federation.
FINALLY–great work, Tim!
Apple is doomed or something. Android has already been there and nobody in China has any money left or something
Frankly speaking , those who want to buy iPhone to use on china mobile have already bought .
Inking the deal actually won’t affect anything .
Why i know ? Coz my relatives I’m china all use their iPhones on china mobile .
Yeah and my uncle’s moggies’s litter brother sleeps with a Burmese cat but he knows nothing about the chances of real democracy breaking out in that country over the next few months despite using the papers to line his dirt box.
Up, up and away …..
Look for a very strong open and a new yearly high today …. We may see $575 before we close!
Wow pre-market already $575 …. How about we test $583?
Looks like Apple and the rumor mill, both have some legs …. From iWatch to 12.9 inch iPad Pro to the old iTV and then the larger iPhone and maybe even solar ….
And then let’s not forget the patent lawsuits and Apple is winning as well as Microsoft and Orcale are all taking bites out of Android ….. Speaking of Orcale their appeal against Google and Java looks like it may be overturned, Google is giving up on Android and focusing on Crome …..
And then there is the EU looking at both Samsung and Google and let’s not forget Samsung attorneys and the trouble they are in, in several courts …..
Apple’s growth never stopped, it was simply sidelined by greed and corporate thievery ……
The latest news ( 11:05 PM, local time) Chinese Mobile officials said the negotiation is still ongoing, and WSJ report is not true.
Latest news( 11:05 PM local time) a China Mobile official said ” the negotiation with Apple is still ongoing, and the WSJ report is not accurate”
Who cares? This doesn’t affect me.
Anyone who wants an iPhone there already has one. It took Apple how many years to drop it pants to get on that network? Soon all carriers are going to fight Apple on their terms!
Thank you China for this.
Thanks for the expert commentary, paid Samsung troll.
I was wondering where they had all gone, but then realised it takes time to remove ‘sent from my iPhone’ to cover their tracks.
There is absolutely zero evidence that China Mobile has signed up Apple to provide iPhones into its mobile system. This is a rumour based on a conjecture based on a leap of faith. China Mobile will not sign with Apple until Apple cries uncle and gives in to its every demands.
Little, but not zero, evidence.
One subsidiary of CM is taking orders. That much has been publicly confirmed.
oops thats a little inconvenient for him/her/it.