Rivals challenge China Mobile after Apple deal

China Mobile Ltd's push of Apple Inc's iPhone device sales is likely to face a further challenge from rivals in China, as China Telecom Corp Ltd slashed contract prices for iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets running on its network starting on Monday.

China Telecom's Beijing branch announced that it would decrease contract prices for both the iPhone 5S and iPhone devices. The subsidized price of a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S with a monthly minimum service fee of 189 yuan ($31.23) was lowered by 800 yuan.

The price of the same handset that has a minimum monthly charge of 289 yuan was decreased by 1,288 yuan. These prices apply to two-year contracts.