China Telecom Prematurely Announce It Will Carry iPhone 5C/5S Beginning September 20

After Reuters came out and said that NTT DoCoMo in Japan can start selling the iPhone from fall onwards, the sights are set on China Telecom, the third biggest provider in China and 10th biggest carrier in the globe. China Telecom posted on China’s Sina Weibo that they’ll be offering iPhone 5C and 5S at any time, and they even started pre-orders but later took down the post saying it was a mistake. TechWeb, a Chinese tech blog, managed to get a photo before it was removed.

The telecom had been accepting orders through this page. After removal, the carrier says they will start offering next-gen phones after 10 days on launch on Friday 20th September, 2013.

The deleted message was saying the following:

China has been chosen as the first country where the iPhone 5S/5C will be shipped! Weibo preorder time! If you want to be one of the people who gets a handset on day one, click here.
Those who successfully preorder will also enjoy a high-end gift bag. Because the iPhone products haven’t actually shipped yet, detailed numbers and actual shipping information may change.

Apple is expected to announce the new phones on September 10th.
China’s Telecom removed posting matches the date of major market releases such as Canada, U.K, U.S., France, Germany and Japan.

There were even some mock ups spotted on China Telecom’s servers by UnwiredView, that were perhaps made to accompany launch of the devices.

China Telecom also officially distributes Apple phones in China. Bloomberg says that China Mobile is going to offer the iPhone ‘as soon as Apple gives in on the price’.

With China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo on the iPhone receivers list, China Telecom will be onlookers at the start. Prices will go down when it receives the iPhone as well. China Telecomalso had 18.3 million 3G subscribers for the 2 quarters ending in June.

Also had 18.3 million 3G subscribers for the 2 quarters ending in June. Revenues in first half of 2013 saw a 28.3% increase, because of Apple’s iPhone.

Unlike its rival China Unicom which turned to low-cost handsets after its exclusive agreement with Apple had expired, China Telecom has plenty of reasons to stick with the iPhone. For the six month period ending in June, it added 18.3 million 3G subscribers.