Apple faces a number of hurdles have to be cleared before it can sell the iPhone 5 in China, but one of those has been conquered today, and Chinese users should be able to buy the device soon.
A Chinese regulatory agency named State Radio Management announced that two models of the iPhone 5 — the A1429 and the A1442 — have been approved to run on China’s mobile networks, according to Chinese blog Sina Tech. Reportedly, the A1429 supports China Unicom’s 3G network and China Mobile’s 2G network, and the A1442 is compatible with China Telecom’s CDMA network.
China Mobile, the largest carrier on the globe, has been in talks with Apple to carry its smartphone, but so far talks have bore no fruit. China Telecom did however, begin selling the iPhone 4S in March, and China Unicom has carried the iPhone for the last three years.
The two iPhone models also passed the 3C (China Compulsory Certificate) certification in September. Now the iPhone 5 faces one last challenge, getting a network-access license.
The iPhone has proven popular in China, resulting in massive crowds, and even a small-riot in Beijing in January when Apple announced it wouldn’t be selling the device on it’s announced launch date.
The launch date for the iPhone 5 has not been officially announced, but Apple CEO Tim Cook did announce last week that the device will likely ship to Chinese customers by December.
