iPhone 5 Received Mandatory Regulatory Certification In China

September 26, 2012. By Nicholas Maithya

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5 has received a mandatory regulatory certification in China, which mean that it can now sell in the Asian nation. This is a being step forward for Apple’s new device as it seeks to avail it in the country, which boasts nearly 1.5 billion people in population.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched its iPhone 5 in 9 countries including China and Hong Kong, but had to postpone the deliveries of the product to the two nations owing to supply constraints. Nonetheless, October, the time when the device should be finally available in China, is almost here, and securing the regulatory certification is therefore a good milestone for iPhone 5 in China.

Reports indicate that two models of the new iPhone 5,  A1429 and A1442 received the certification on Sep. 24, 2012, which are set to expire in 5 years. The model A1429 corresponds to China Unicom’s WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network, consistent with Hong Kong’s iPhone 5 version, while the model A1442 corresponds to the CDMA2000 (IMT-CDMA Multi-Carrier) telecommunications network.

It is also noted in a Chinese technology publication that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may have submitted another separate model number for China Telecom’s CDMA2000 network, as the current A1429 iPhone 5 model does support it.

Elsewhere, another carrier network, China Unicom has revealed that as long as iPhone 5 gets regulatory approval, then the device will be available in its network within three months of launching.

China Compulsory Certification (3C) is a mandatory requirement that must be met be devices looking to retail in the country.