A China Mobile employee allegedly revealed that the popular Chinese carrier will launch Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone this coming September, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. The news jibes with multiple earlier reports that Apple’s iPhone 5 is set to launch this September, though it may launch even sooner in the U.S. and other key markets. The news was first relayed by Chinese language website Bianews.com, which reported on Thursday that a China Mobile employee wrote that the carrier would launch the iPhone 5 in September in a post on Weibo.com, a micro-blogging service similar to Twitter. The post was subsequently deleted. Apple COO Tim Cook was recently seen attending meetings with China Mobile executives, and the tech giant’s next-generation iPhone could very well have been the topic of their conversations.

Zach Epstein has worked in and around ICT for more than 15 years, first in marketing and business development with two private telcos, then as a writer and editor covering business news, consumer electronics and telecommunications. Zach’s work has been quoted by countless top news publications in the US and around the world. He was also recently named one of the world's top-10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes, as well as one of Inc. Magazine's top-30 Internet of Things experts.