Fight for the first bite (3)

Compared to other smartphones, the iPhone has established that it can generate more user traffic owing to its solid user experience, helping greatly spur 3G services for the telecom carriers, Li Yanyan, an industry analyst with Beijing-based market research firm Analysys International, told the Global Times.

"This is of particular importance for China Telecom as 3G services competition ramps up," Li said.

China Telecom became Apple's second partner in the mainland market in March to start offering the iPhone 4S.

As of October, China Telecom's 3G subscribers hit more than 60 million, according to the latest operating data announced by the carrier.

In comparison, China Mobile's 3G users reached nearly 80 million and China Unicom's 3G subscribers reached roughly 70 million during the same month, according to the two carriers' recently released operating data.

Hopes that China Mobile, the country's largest telecom operator, will release the hot-selling iPhone lineup anytime soon remain weak given the operator's proprietary 3G standard being unsupported by Apple, although the telco titan also began offering free nano-SIM card replacement for its subscribers in late September.

China Mobile is reported to have nearly 20 million iPhone users currently subscribing to its 2G network.

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