China Telecom plans iPhone launch this year

Reuters is reporting that China Telecom will officially launch the iPhone on its 106 million-subscriber service by the end of 2011, according to sources. We've heard this rumor before, but this seems about as good as we're going to get before an actual, official confirmation. Currently, China Unicom sells the iPhone in China, but that deal is relatively thin, according to Reuters, and a China Telecom deal would bring out a CDMA iPhone, along with the possibility of that new crop of subscribers.

If a deal is hammered out by the end of the year, that will mean a lot of new iPhones to sell in a country where Apple's been trying to make some big gains.

Sounds like we'll know by November -- that's when China Telecom is set to introduce the new phone. If Apple and China Telecom can hash out this deal, they'll not only make a mint, but probably make a lot of Chinese customers happy besides.