China Telecom may have secured a long-anticipated deal to launch a CDMA iPhone, while more rumors circulate about the next iteration of Apple’s flagship device.

Chinese media reports claim that the operator has reached an initial agreement to carry the CDMA iPhone, Forbes said.

The handset could launch as early as October, and by next year at the latest. Other rumors have China Telecom carrying the iPhone 4 and upcoming iPhone 5 simultaneously.

The Chinese whispers aren’t the only rumors about the iPhone 5 doing the rounds across the internet at present. A prominent rumor is that the device will not launch in September as predicted, but instead will debut in October, Huffington Post said.

Another report claims that sealed boxes containing the iPhone 5 hardware has been sent to operators for compatibility testing.

An industry analyst has also suggested that the device won’t include 4G support due to battery life and network coverage issues, but will likely have a dual-core processor and larger display.