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Yes, the iPhone is headed to China.
How is this for irony?
In order to sell the iPhone in the country that makes it, Apple actually has to take away the Wi-Fi capabilities of the smartphone to get it released.
This has been a back and forth argument between the Chinese government and Apple for quite some time now with neither party backing down. Apple wanted to have the iPhone debuted with Wi-Fi enabled while China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technologies has adamantly refused their overtures.
Their rationale here is that they want the iPhone to only run on cellular networks. There are however, several other reasons they may have a problem with Wi-Fi.
Security issues. Overloading of the network because of the amount of users. Lack of control.
Earlier this year, China Unicom, one of the three biggest service providers in China, engaged in negotiations with Apple to try and bring the iPhone into their fold. This was because in January, they were able to obtain a WCDMA license to start operating with 3G. Even then, the two sides were unable to agree on terms.
Why?
Because China Unicom is controlled by the Chinese government, that’s why.
Well, the quagmire has apparently ended and yesterday, Apple sent an application to the Chinese government for a Network Access License that would allow them to begin selling the iPhone in China without Wi-Fi.
This new license clears a path for the iPhone, apparently running on GSM and not CDMA, to be released in China ahead of schedule, sometime in January of next year, possibly even sooner. This of course, will move talks with China Unicom and Apple along now that the evils of Wi-Fi have been dealt with.
So who is the winner here?
Is it the people of China that have been waiting for the iPhone for what seems like forever? The iPhone is already being used, unlocked of course, inside the country and people waiting for the official release will probably be disappointed with the lack of Wi-Fi support, but, at least the phone should be coming months ahead of time.
Is it Apple that stood up to the Chinese government only to crumble when it got to crunch time (they had stated they wanted to be in China within the next 12 months)? It is probably better to be selling any sort of iPhone in China than no iPhone at all so even though they lost their bite at the end, it more than likely will end up being a smart business move.
Or is it China Unicom and the Chinese government that submitted Apple to its will, gained a valuable market for its cellular provider and got the phone to its people months before it was supposed to?
The clear winner might seem like China.
Yet, there are soft costs to these types of negotiations and if China wants to be seen as a free market and become an even more dominant world economy, they will need to consider loosening some of their controls.
And if you still haven’t noticed, there is also one clear cut loser here.
Any guesses?
Sorry Wi-Fi, have a nice walk down the Silk Road of shame.
For more info: Contact Adam: admillios@gmail.com
Comments
I don't know what they expect this to accomplish. There are already thousands of shops in China that sell 'black market (real, the fake ones are another discussion)' iPhones, most imported from Hong Kong. Step on any subway train in Shanghai and you'll see almost 1 in 3 people already have an iPhone.
Nobody is going to buy the disabled China market version when they can easily purchase the 'full' unlocked Hong Kong version. If the government then tries to force shops to stop selling HK iPhone models, they'll just do it underground. Even with the China version iPhone, hackers will figure out how to turn wifi back on before the product hits the streets (I understand it's a software, not hardware change).
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