China United Network Communications Group (CHTZ), the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, will give users an Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone 4S if they sign multiyear service contracts costing as little as 286 yuan ($45) a month.
The promotion starting Jan. 13 offers a 32-gigabyte model with a three-year plan, while a commitment to two years for a monthly fee of 386 yuan allows users to get the 16-gigabyte model, the company known as China Unicom said in a statement on its website yesterday.
China Unicom, the only one of the nation’s three carriers offering the iPhone with a service contract, is using the handset to woo high-end subscribers who play games and watch online videos using their phones. Users of high-speed third- generation networks in China more than doubled in the first 11 months of last year to 117 million, according to monthly figures from the mobile operators.
The Beijing-based company had 36.5 million 3G users at the end of November, or about 31 percent of the nation’s total. It continues to trail China Mobile Communications Corp. (CHMOBZ), which had 48 million 3G users.
