Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_
Talking about being futureproof and the frequencies most providers will get will not be compatible with this device.
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Other than EE (which does support the iPhone 5's 4G LTE), we won't have 4G LTE in the UK for another year or more, by which time there'll be an iPhone 5S that presumably will support the bands being auctioned by Ofcom (unless of course the roll-out is delayed
yet again...).
It's not Apple's fault that the UK currently has no 4G LTE. Apple can't support every possible band (there are quite a few in the LTE standard!), and there's no point supporting bands that currently have
zero use and will continue to have zero use for the near future.
Unlike the situation with the "4G" iPad 3, Apple is not to blame for this situation.
It has made it abundantly clear, from its iPhone 5 media event through to its own website, that the iPhone 5's 4G LTE will only work in the UK on the upcoming EE network.
The media has also made this clear, via news stories from the BBC, the national press, and various tech sites and mainstream sites.
And the networks have made it clear, given that
only EE / Orange / T-Mobile have made
any mention of 4G LTE with the iPhone 5 and
all the other networks have kept quiet about it.
I do not see many people being "surprised" or "shocked" about the 4G LTE situation given that
no UK network currently even has 4G LTE, and the
only one that even mentions it in relation to the iPhone 5 is Everything Everywhere (Orange / T-Mobile / EE).
If you do want to blame someone, from what I have read the primary blame allegedly lies with O2 for delaying the 4G auction by taking repeated legal action against Ofcom.
As such, it amuses me that O2 is now saying that it wants its 4G services running "as quickly as possible".
It also amuses me that O2 is apparently unhappy with EE being allowed by Ofcom to re-farm its 1800MHz spectrum for 4G LTE, given that:
1) The other networks could also have asked Ofcom for permission to re-farm existing spectrum for 4G LTE.
2) O2 itself benefitted from Ofcom allowing it to re-farm its own 900MHz spectrum for 3G.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19586067
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/2_6ghz_battle/
http://www.itpro.co.uk/634114/update...ion-is-illegal
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showp...7&postcount=23
---------- Post added at 00:24 ---------- Previous post was at 00:11 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jameseh
I doubt they will even on the iPhone 6. Apple won't make a variant just for o2 and Vodaphone UK.
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Actually, I don't think that that would be so implausible.
Apple made a version of the iPhone 4 specifically for the Verizon network in the US (which uses the CDMA2000 system, rather than GSM/UMTS). It also has two versions of the iPhone 5 in North America: One GSM/UMTS model that supports the LTE bands used by AT&T in the US and also three networks in Canada, and one CDMA2000 model that supports the LTE bands used by Verizon and Sprint in the US.
So, if there was a sufficient market for an iPhone that worked on another set of LTE bands in Europe, in addition to the bands supported by the current European iPhone 5, then... why not?