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China, Huawei propose internet protocol with a built-in killswitch
China, Huawei and Chinese carriers want to redesign a key aspect of the internet -- and while there may be some upsides, their ideas have raised some alarm bells. The Financial Times understands that the group has proposed a new internet protocol at the ITU, New IP, that theoretically offers more efficient addressing and network management than the existing TCP/IP standard but also appears to have hooks that allow authoritarian regimes to censor and surveil their residents. Most notably, there would be a "shut up command" that would let a central part of the network cut off data going to or from an address. As you might guess, that could be handy if China wanted to silence an activist without resorting to extra tools.
What you need to know about Apple, VPNs and China
On July 29th, Apple began notifying VPN companies that their apps would shortly be pulled from the App Store in China. In a statement, ExpressVPN said that the move was "surprising and unfortunate" and that it was "disappointed in this development." But is this a case of Apple essentially capitulating in a privacy and censorship fight with the Chinese government?
China finally grants 4G licenses, but still no iPhone deal for China Mobile
Just as promised, the Chinese government has finally granted TD-LTE licenses to the country's three carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. This means the companies can launch their 4G services whenever they want, though the reality is only China Mobile, the world's largest carrier, has been conducting large-scale TD-LTE trials across the country. The remaining two companies have previously expressed that they plan to use the more common FDD-LTE as their main backbone, but the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is allegedly waiting for TD-LTE deployment to mature before it also grants FDD-LTE licenses. Either way, this is obviously good news for mobile phone manufacturers who want to dig deep into the Chinese market, as the faster service will motivate users to upgrade their phones -- especially with all the red pocket money they will be receiving in Chinese New Year at the end of next month. While there's already no shortage of TD-LTE devices out in the market, China Mobile recently told CNN that contrary to rumours, it has yet to secure a deal with Apple to sell iPhones. What's more bizarre is that a TD-LTE-flavored iPhone 5s has already been approved for use on China Mobile's network since September. Well, for the sake of Apple fans stuck with China Mobile, here's hoping the denial is just a cheeky decoy.
China pledges to grow broadband coverage to 70% of households
Mobile internet access? Yeah, that's pretty popular in China, but according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, household access is on the rise, too. The country says it will be expanding FTTH connections by 35 million households in 2013, putting 4M broadband connections (or faster) in over 70 percent of Chinese households. The announcement is part of China's 2013 broadband initiative, which aims to expand connectivity across the nation, including rural areas and schools. By the end of the year, China can expect to have 180,000 new 3G base stations and 1.3 million new WiFi hotspots. Check out the MIIT's full (and machine translated) announcement at the adjacent source link.
iPhone 5 gets Chinese network license, expected to go on sale by mid-December
The Ministry of Industry and Technology of the People's Republic of China has rubber-stamped Apple's iPhone 5 as being suitable for sale in the country. It's the last of several regulatory hurdles the handset has had to leap through, and is expected to be on sale by Mid-December. The filings reveal that both a WCDMA and CDMA-2000 edition have been approved, confirming reports that it'll be available on both China Unicom and China Telecom. Presumably Tim Cook and chums didn't fancy building a TD-SCDMA version just for China Mobile, but don't worry folks -- Stephen Elop's got your back.
China goes from zero to 200 million 3G users in only three years
Considering that China 3G network trials only started in anger in 2009, and that the figure stood at 100 million users just last year, a new report from Sina Tech that the number now stands at 202.6 million is fairly mind boggling. The launch was delayed to begin with, as operators used an alphabet soup of different wireless technology and early results were mixed at best. But the popularity of certain devices along with the advent of microblogging sites like Weibo helped the service quickly gain traction after that, and now more people there use cellphones to surf the web than computers. We'll have to wait and see if 4G goes as well -- after some early waffling, the government seems to have some newfound enthusiasm for it. [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
iPhone 4S cleared for use in China, sino-Siri coming soon
While Apple fans around the globe have had the iPhone 4S for awhile now, many of our friends in the Far East haven't gotten to enjoy the fruits of their countrymen's labor due to a lack of governmental approval. You see, before a handset makes it onto Chinese networks, it's got to be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The good news is, the 4S has finally been blessed by Beijing and will be brought to the masses by Chinese Unicom sometime soon. That means that China's home-grown superphone, the Meizu MX, is going to have some Siri-ous competition for Chinese hearts and yuan in 2012.
iPhone 4S has reportedly received China's network access permit
Chinese website M.I.C. Gadget is reporting that the iPhone 4S has leaped an important hurdle in preparation for sale by cellular carrier China Unicom. The newest iPhone has apparently been tested by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and is about to be given the stamp of approval -- a network access permit. MIIT is a state agency in China that regulates the Internet and wireless communications. Local media in the country reported that the network access permit for the iPhone 4S will be issued in as soon as two weeks. No official word has come from either Apple or China Unicom, but if the rumor is true, the desirable 4S will be going on sale soon in the world's biggest market. China Unicom is dropping the 16 and 32 GB iPhone 4 models, presumably to prepare for the arrival of the 8 GB iPhone 4 and the three models of iPhone 4S. China is a large and growing market for Apple, and one that the company is focusing on for future revenues. China Unicom is the second-largest carrier in the country. China Mobile is actually the largest; although the company doesn't officially carry the iPhone (the phones can only make calls and send texts on the China Mobile TD-LTE network), they apparently have 10 million iPhone users on their network. Subscribers to China Telecom, the nation's third-largest carrier, will reportedly need to wait until February or March of 2012 to get their hands on the iPhone 4S.
