iPhone 4S landing on China Telecom March 9th

At the end of January it was confirmed that China Telecom earned the necessary permits and approval from Apple to host the iPhone 4S on its network. Adding China Telecom as an iPhone 4S carrier, it takes the iPhone 4S exclusivity away from China Unicom.

Tonight, Jim Dalrymple from The Loop reports, and confirmed on China Telecom’s website, the iPhone 4S will be landing on China Telecom March 9th…

iPhone 4S will be available starting at RMB 0 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models on select contracts in China Telecom’s authorized stores and online, the company said.

China Telecom will be selling the iPhone 4S on both its website and in authorized retail stores. It will offer the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB models on select contracts for $0 RMB. The iPhone 4S is currently a very hot item worldwide, so adding another carrier in China will mean big bucks for Apple.

During its earnings call last month, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook made note that China is a key emerging market for Apple products. Tim Cook made comment about how excited he was about the growth China’s sales were doing.

In a statement to The Loop, Apple spokeswoman Natalie Harrison has similar excitement…

“iPhone 4S has been an incredible hit with customers around the world. We’re thrilled to be launching iPhone 4S with China Telecom and can’t wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China.”

China Telecom is China’s third largest carrier, with roughly 130 million subscribers. China Mobile is China’s largest carrier by a landslide, boasting over 600 million customers, while China Unicom has roughly 200 million customers.

Being on two carriers, iPhone 4S sales will get a nice boost.

[The Next Web, 9to5Mac]