Apple still wants to get the iPhone into China, but a number of hurdles remain
As the number of countries that now carry the iPhone continues to grow, one country in particular remains conspicuously absent from the list. Typically, one country in and of itself isn’t that big of a deal, but things are just a tad different when that country has over 1 billion people. Naturally, I’m talking about China.
For some time now, Apple has been trying to reach a deal with China Mobile to bring the iPhone to China, but right when one roadblock is removed, another emerges. Initial negotiations between the two companies became deadlocked over Apple’s insistence on revenue sharing, which it no longer demands from carriers. Instead, Apple now relies on cell phone subsidies, so you would think that it’d be smooth sailing ahead. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
According to reports, the most recent round of negotiations between China Mobile and Apple broke down over China Mobile’s insistence that it be allowed to help administer the iTunes App Store. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what Apple’s response was to that demand. Needless to say, Apple would certainly like to market the iPhone to China Mobile’s 630 million phone subscribers, but it would never relinquish control over any of its software in order to enter any market, no matter how big.
So what does Apple do when the largest mobile provider in China doesn’t want to play ball? Why they go to the second largest mobile provider! Keep in mind that China is the most populous country in the world, so the number of subscribers for China Unicom, which is China’s second largest mobile provider, is probably a lot larger than the biggest providers in most other countries. In fact, China Unicom has over 150 million phone subscribers which is nothing to scoff at. A report in China Business News late last week reported that Apple and China Unicom had entered into negotiations to bring the iPhone to China, and while negotiations might go smoother than they did with China Mobile, China’s strict authoritarian rule over what kind of technology is allowed to be used consumers will ensure that any potential deal will be the result of a lot of hard work, long negotiations, and some compromise by Apple.
The iPhone in China will happen eventually, but the only question is when and with what carrier.Like this post? Check out these others from iOnApple
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