China's Mobile, Telecom, Unicom to sell Apple's iPhone 5 this year

Both China Unicom and China Telecom, two of the largest mobile carriers in the world, will sell Apple's fifth-generation iPhone as soon as this quarter, with the largest prize -- China Mobile -- to follow, according to a new report.

Citing an unidentified person, the report also threw China Mobile into the mix, stating that the massive carrier will not be the first to sell the new iPhone model. The details suggest that Apple's fifth-generation iPhone could launch in both the U.S. and China at some point this quarter, which concludes in September.

When comparing wireless carriers, China Mobile is the biggest prize on the planet, in terms of total customers. The largest carrier in the world had 611 million wireless subscribers at the end of May, representing 68 percent of the total China wireless market

Even though the iPhone is not officially available on China Mobile's network, one estimate this year said that 4 million iPhone users are on the massive network. China Unicom is currently the sole carrier that officially offers the iPhone in China