Webwire: China Mobile: terms hold back iPhone; Apple stock takes a hit

China Mobile CEO Li Yue has stated that the biggest barrier to the operator carrying the iPhone is not the requirement to produce a TD-SCDMA version, but is instead working out favorable “benefit-sharing” terms with Apple.            
 
Li's comments are thought to be one of several factors blamed for the biggest single-day loss in Apple shares in four years during Wednesday's trading. Other factors were predictions that Android devices will continue to eat into iPad sales, and news that Nokia had beaten Apple to the punch for a handset deal with China Mobile.
 
Globe Telecom has improved its offer to buy the last of BayanTel's debt notes. The company had secured nearly 92% of the in-rehabilitation company's notes by early December, in a suspected effort to lay the ground for an acquisition.
 
Deutsche Telekom has cut its planned dividend payout for 2013 and 2014 by 29% from this year's commitment, after laying out an ambitious €30 billion ($39 billion) network investment roadmap for the next three years.
 
Some tech experts trialing Google's 1Gbps consumer fiber service in Kansas City have been disappointed to learn that server-side and other bottlenecks mean individual download speeds rarely touch their full potential.
 
Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent have reportedly been selected to help Telecom NZ conduct LTE tests in three areas.
 
Apple and Samsung are back in court in California, with Samsung seeking to have the $1.05 billion damages bill awarded by a jury significantly reduced, and Apple arguing its rival should have to pay over $500 million more.
 
Facebook is rumored to be in talks with Microsoft over a deal to acquire the latter's Atlus advertising platform, with the aim of developing the ability to launch ads on their own.