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Okay, here we go again. Instead of launching October 7 as previously rumored, Apple's new iPhone may not actually debut until about a week later on October 15, at least according to the CEO of France Telecom.

When, oh, when will the new iPhone appear? (Credit: Apple) Chatting with French reporters at a business conference this week, CEO Stephane Richard said that he had already gotten the inside scoop on the new phone's launch date, according to the folks at TechRadar.

"If we believe what we have been told, the iPhone 5 will be released on 15 October," Richard proclaimed without revealing just where he got the information. The loquacious CEO of France Telecom hasn't been shy about talking tech in the past, speaking with AllThingsD's Ina Fried in May about all things iPhone and Android and spilling the beans about the coming of Apple's iPad in January 2010.

But, as TechRadar points out, October 15 lands on a Saturday, which is atypical of Apple's usual strategy of launching a new product on a weekday, although the original iPad debuted on a Saturday. Apple could also conceivably kick off the new iPhone in the U.S. on October 7 and then hit other countries a week later. But the company is more likely to want to launch the phone in all the major markets at the same time to take the greatest advantage of the upcoming holiday season, speculates The International Business Times.

However, October 15 has also been rumored as the date that Sprint may unveil the new iPhone to its customers. So Richard's inside scoop may be on the money or just another item to add to the lengthy iPhone 5 rumor mill. Beyond France Telecom, China Telecom is another international carrier prepping for the iPhone 5 next month. Citing a report in the Chinese newspaper the "Southern Metropolis Daily," The Next Web says that China's third largest carrier has already announced the availability of the iPhone 5 at one store and is busy creating an ad campaign and training employees to handle customer orders. Official sales are set to begin October, however, no specific date was revealed.

Now bigger than Verizon as the world's largest CDMA carrier, China Telecom is expected to sell more than a million new iPhones by the end of the year, The Next Web added.



TAGS:  Apple, iPhone5, smartphone, France Telecom, China Telecom, Stephane