The next iPhone, set to be unveiled Wednesday at a special media event in San Francisco, is now expected to be compatible with LTE networks outside the US. While the third-generation iPad was only compatible with North American LTE networks, the upcoming iPhone will indeed work on “the fastest wireless networks around the worldincluding Europe and Asia,” according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal.
4G LTE technology is still in a relative infancy, with the US having the largest network rollout so far. Market research firm IDC said that South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Sweden are among the 11 countries with LTE service world wide, and rollouts are just now beginning in France and the UK.
Supporting LTE is difficult, not only because of limited network availability, but also because LTE networks operate on a wider variety of radio frequencies than 3G networks. “It’s like patchwork quilt in terms of spectrum,” Bill Davidson, senior vice president of Qualcomm Inc, told WSJ. “It will be impractical to have all of the bands [in a single device].”
Because Apple’s latest-generation “iPad 4G + WiFi” is only compatible with LTE networks in the US and Canada, Apple had run ins with regulators in Australia and Sweden over claims that its marketing confused consumers into thinking it would be compatible with LTE networks in those countries.
Read also:
iPhone 5 release date rumor: Expert predicts features of new Apple iPhone 5 (Examiner.com)
New iPhone to Support LTE (Wall Street Journal)
Will the new iPhone be China Mobile compatible? (Fortune (blog))
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