China Unicom is to expand its trial WCDMA-based 3G network to a further 168 Chinese cities from tomorrow in a bid to catch up with rivals, China Mobile and China Telecom. According to Chinese press reports today, the latest rollout will bring the total number of cities where the operator’s 3G services are available to 268. The newly added cities are spread across 18 provinces, including Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Hunan, Liaoning, Sichuan and Yunnan. China Unicom – the country’s second-largest mobile operator – began trials of its 3G network in May, becoming the last of China’s three largest mobile operators to do so. At the time, the operator’s president, Chang Xiaobing, said the network would be fully operational by year-end. The network is branded as ‘WO’ and will reportedly use three different brand designs to target different market segments. Users of the trial network will be able to make video calls and access mobile TV services.

Meanwhile, China Unicom has still to confirm widespread reports earlier this week that it is close to becoming the first operator in the country to offer Apple’s iPhone. A China Unicom spokesman confirmed that talks were progressing but were not finalised. “We have made progress but there are still some problems to be resolved… Both sides have their own timeframe for an agreement but essentially it depends on the practical progress of the negotiations.” According to reports, China Unicom is expected to start selling the iPhone at the end of September at a price point of around CNY3,000 (US$440) as part of a three-year exclusive deal. Pictures of what purports to be a Chinese iPhone have appeared on various websites this week.