­China Telecom expects to be able to start sales of Apple's latest iPhone model this coming December, and may even be able to start sales before rival network China Unicom is able to secure supplies.

Both networks are reported by Sina to be testing the device on their networks.

Citing company insiders, Sina reported that China Telecom considers approval from Apple for sales of the smartphone to be a "foregone conclusion".

Apple has already confirmed its intention to sell the phone in China, and it was presumed that sales would go to both Unicom and Telecom, with China Mobile again missing out due to the lack of compatibility with its 3G network.

Last month, Chinese authorities issued the China Compulsory Certification (3C) to Apple's iPhone 5, clearing it for sale in the country.

The certificates mentioned the A1429 model which works with China Unicom's WCDMA network, while the A1442 model works on China Telecom's CDMA2000 network.

There was no mention of a variant that would work on China Mobile's TD-SCDMA service, although teardown analysis of the handset has found support for that technology in the baseband processor - leaving the company just the task of seeking a replacement air interface.