Philippine telcos confirm November 15 iPhone 5s/5c availability, more markets mulled

Apple iPhone 5s 5c launch video (image 001)

Following the initial iPhone 5s/5c roll-out in the United States and ten major global markets, Apple last Friday brought the handset to 35 new markets. It also announced that the third wave of expansion will see an additional sixteen countries getting the new handsets on November 1, expanding the iPhone’s footprint to 60+ countries.

But the company won’t be standing still for too long. Just two weeks later, the fourth wave of expansion will reportedly add a bunch of new markets, including the Philippines, Brazil and Israel….

Philippine carriers Smart and Globe have now formally announced that they will start offering the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c beginning Friday, November 15. Globe customers can pre-register their interest for the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c.

AppAdvice earlier this morning said it’s been tipped that the new handsets will hit the Philippines on November 15. Analyzing Apple’s past iPhone launches, the publication postulated that the broader fourth wave of countries should include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, South Africa and Venezuela.

5s 5c banner

Brazil is especially notable as the country’s National Telecommunications Agency just approved the new devices for use on the country’s 4G-ready 2600Mhz band. Besides, it was just a month ago that Apple prevailed in its legal battle to use the iPhone moniker in the 200 million people market.

We also reported this morning that Brazil’s first Apple retail store is coming online in February or March 2013 inside the Village Mall located in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Apple is shooting to have the iPhone 5s/5c available in about a hundred countries worldwide and across nearly 300 carriers before 2013 wraps up.