By Star Chang, posted Sep 13, 2012 at 1:59 PM, 5,842 views,

China Mobile is Preparing Nano SIM Card for iPhone 5, But No iPhone 5 Sales ?

Apple has officially released the new iPhone 5. The new handset will be using a new Nano SIM card for its cellular network. Compare to the previous Micro SIM card, Nano SIM is smaller and thinner, making it difficult to direct convert from the standard SIM card. China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile operator, have indicated that they are actually preparing the new Nano SIM Card for iPhone 5 user in China. But there are rumors saying that the Chinese telco is not likely to carry the device for its user …

As reported by Chinese tech media before the announcement of iPhone 5, employees at China Mobile have indicated that the carrier is unlikely to sell Apple’s new iPhone 5. A number of workers at different cities said they had heard nothing about Apple’s next-generation iPhone being released on their network. China Mobile currently serves more than 650 million mobile subscribers. And if rumors are to be true, China Mobile will be the only telco in China, which will officially not carrying the latest iPhone 5. It is believed that this decision was taken due to the iPhone’s lack of support for China Mobile’s proprietary TD-SCDMA standard.

Early this year, China Mobile has announced that it has 15 million iPhone users on their network in China, without Apple’s deal. All these iPhone users are actually limited to 2G data speeds. They have brought unlocked, unsupported iPhone to the party which has caused this abnormal circumstance. The telco has built out a nationwide Wi-Fi network to make up for its 3G shortcomings. China Mobile and Apple have been organized talks with each other to solve out the problem, but the major hold up so far is the delay in the development of the required chip. Apple would need to add a different Qualcomm chip just for the China Mobile Network (whether 3G or 4G), meaning that it would raise the making cost of the new iPhone.

Meanwhile, the domestic three operators have no official words on when to support the new Nano SIM cards. An operations department manager from China mobile revealed through his micro-blog, saying the company has started procurement of the Nano-SIM card. A picture has shown the Nano-SIM card dedicated to the China mobile network. New iPhone 5 users in China which are also China Mobile subscribers, will be able to change their card soon. While China Telecom said they are currently no specific timetable for the introduction of the iPhone 5 and upgrading of Nano-SIM. China Unicom said they will be introduce the iPhone 5 within three months, but did not disclose any information on Nano-SIM card too.

SOURCE: TNW, Chinanews (Chinese translated)