China Mobile is the world’s largest carrier in terms of the number of subscribers, and any plans it makes to utilize phones is a big boost to the company it plans to source them from. This is why its recent announcement to launch a new brand for mobile service on December 18 is a big deal.

China Mobile said it will launch this new brand during its 4G Global Partners Conference, and this is expected to fall in line with its launch of Apple’s latest iPhone 5s and 5c models.

Mizuho Securities Thinks iPhone Is Coming To China Mobile

According to a report by Lorraine Luk of the WSJ, Mizuho Securities analyst Marvin Lo Hong said that “a deal with China Mobile would give Apple a big boost in the China market as the largest local carrier has the most wealthy subscriber base.” Hong went on to say, “I estimate that among China Mobile’s more than 700 million subscribers, at least 10 percent, or 70 million (of) the wealthier ones would be potential customers for iPhones.”

Such a jump would indeed be a big boost for Apple. If Hong is right in his theory that China Mobile will be offering the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models to its clients, a 70 million unit increase would be huge in terms of revenue for the Cupertino company.

iPhone 5s & 5c Support China Specific LTE Technology

When the new 4G network is launched by China Mobile it will be with a specific type of LTE, known as TD-LTE. This new version of LTE is incompatible with existing 4G LTE, because China is attempting to avoid making royalty payments to Qualcomm for the patents on LTE. This is not the first time China has sidestepped these payments, as it offered TD-SCDMA in lieu of standard 3G service.

The iPhone 5s and 5c both support TD-LTE technology, and both models have been approved by the government for distribution in the country. This alone is a strong indication that China Mobile and Apple have been talking. However, there have also been some job postings and advertising collateral laid out that seem to indicate a deal as well.

Disclosure: Author represents that he has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article at the time this article was submitted.