According to the statistics from the Tianjin telecom administration, over 300 subscribers switched operators after the new rule went into effect. About 10 customers moved to China Telecom, 100 moved to China Mobile and the biggest winner in this battle so far is China Unicom, with about 200 new subscribers. But, one might argue it has an unfair advantage. Unicom is the sole provider of the hugely popular iPhone 4 plan in China.
One consumer said "I changed my mobile operator to China Unicom with my husband, because he just bought an Iphone 4."
Staff of China Unicom, Tianjin said "More than 1000 consumers have signed up for the iPhone 4. And more than half the mobile users moved to China Unicom just for the iPhone."
However, there are still a large number of mobile users who have not yet made their decision. They are still comparing the services and prices of all three.
One mobile user said "I want to wait and see. I might consider changing my operator if there's a better promotion."
Although China Unicom is winning market share from China Mobile's current leading position, all three operators have said that the current statistics don't mean much. At the beginning of next year, China Unicom no longer be the exclusive operator of the iPhone and insiders predict the competition will enter a new stage.
