Forget The Gold iPhone, The Much Bigger Story Is That Apple Appears To Have Signed Up The Most Important Mobile Carrier In The World

Who cares about a gold iPhone?

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has much bigger news for Apple.

In his latest report, Kuo says the next iPhone will be available on China Mobile, the world's biggest carrier, and the most important carrier in China.

The biggest problem has with its iPhone business is distribution. It stopped adding big new carriers in 2011. This has limited its sales globally.

China Mobile will be getting 4G wireless coverage this year, according to an earlier Reuters report. The standard for China Mobile's networks will be called, "TDD-LTE."

Kuo says in his report, "We believe the joint effort by Apple and China Mobile this year will boost penetration of TDD-LTE to 25% in iPhone 5S and 35% in iPhone 5C shipments, which will generate new shipments momentum for the supply chain."

For years, Apple's growth in China was phenomenal. Lately, it has cooled. The hope is that China Mobile will reignite Apple in China.

Apple's stock is up 2% today, trading at $512. Part of the rise is probably tied to Kuo's report.