More than 760 million China Mobile users will be able to use the latest iPhones and 4G networks without changing their numbers as the operator and Apple will launch the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on January 17. The two versions have been available for pre-ordering on China Mobile’s website or through the 10086 hotline as of December 25. China Mobile intends to sell 100 million 4G phones with TD-LTE technology this year, including models from other manufacturers including Samsung, HTC and Xiaomi. China Mobile was the only Chinese carrier not to offer customers the iPhone up to now due to compatibility issues with the carrier’s 3G wireless technology, known as TD-SCDMA. The latest iPhones support the TD-LTE 4G technology. China Mobile may see new iPhone sales increase to 23 million in 2014, Katy Huberty, Analyst with Morgan Stanley, wrote in a recent note. China Unicom (Hong Kong), the nation’s second-biggest telecom carrier, became the first operator to introduce iPhones on its network in mid-2009. China Telecom Corp, the smallest wireless carrier, tied the knot with Apple at the beginning of 2012. “We expect the alliance between Apple and China Mobile to help Apple realize a year-on-year growth rate of more than 50% in terms of shipments in China during 2014,” James Yan, Senior Analyst with IDC China, said. “The China Mobile version of the iPhones will be the only iPhones with 4G service in the coming months,” added Bryan Wang, Principal Analyst with Forrester Market Advisory (Beijing) Co. Because China Unicom and China Telecom did not have enough incentives to widely launch TD-LTE 4G networks, and the Chinese government has yet to hand out the FDD-LTE licenses that the two carriers prefer, China Mobile “might be the only 4G operator in China at least in the next six months”, Wang explained. Forrester predicted that Apple could sell as many as 17 million new iPhones to China Mobile users in the first year. Apple ranked eighth in China’s smartphone market in the third quarter, with a share of 3.5%, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. South Korea-based Samsung Electronics led the list with 18.4% and Lenovo Group took second place with 12.5%.

China Mobile fixed contract fees at CNY5,488 for a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S handset and shoppers can select a monthly payment varying from CNY138 to CNY588. The number of pre-orders for China Mobile’s iPhone devices in the 20-day period starting December 25 exceeded 1 million, according to the company.