Published on 07/13/2009
Apple has applied for a network access license that would allow the firm to sell officially-sanctioned iPhones. The background is that the Chinese Ministry of Industry has an issue with the iPhone having a WIFI connection. The "why" isn't clear because there are countless WIFI phones produced, and probably available in China.
Anyhow, there are an estimated two million iPhones in China, coming from various sources, so there's clearly a demand. Apple must have decided that it was worth jumping in without WIFI. We suspect that Apple might try to disable WIFI in the software, in which case, it could be hacked.