Hasta La Gadget!

Patchy coverage; fragmented frequencies; tight-lipped and cautious carriers: the iPhone 5‘s LTE may be one of the headline features, but it’s also causing the most confusion. As predicted, Apple threw in support for LTE networks across the globe in the new smartphone, though it was forced to use three different versions to do so. Even those three may not be enough to satisfy everyone, however: there are some significant holes for high-profile carriers.

Beyond the usual color and storage capacity options, there will be three different types of iPhone 5. Each will cater to different carriers in different geographies: Model A1428 (GSM) with the AWS and 700b LTE bands (4 and 17) for AT&T in the US, and Bell, Rogers, and Telus in Canada (including Virgin, Fido, and Kudo, their respective sub-brands).

Model A1429 (CDMA) supports the most LTE bands, with 2100, 1800, 850, 700c, and 1900 (bands 1, 3, 5, 13, and 25), though ironically Apple is positioning it for the fewest carriers: only Verizon and Sprint in the US, and KDDI in Japan. Finally, Model A1429 (GSM) handles most places outside of North America, with LTE service for Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, the UK’s EE, Australia’s Optus, Virgin, and Telstra, Japan’s Softbank, Korea’s SK Telecom and KT, Hong Kong’s SmarTone, and Singapore’s M1 and SingTel.

That leaves plenty of carriers either with 3G-only support or planning LTE networks with no band support in any of the three iPhone 5 models. As Engadget highlights, UK carriers Vodafone and O2 may well be readying their own LTE push, but they’ll be using 800MHz (band 20) and 2.6GHz (band 7) for their 4G and thus won’t actually work with the iPhone 5.

To counter that, some carriers are offering a get-out-clause of sorts partway through the typical two-year agreement. O2′s new “4G Handset Promise” will mean iPhone 5 buyers will be able to upgrade to a device compatible with the carrier’s LTE network, it told The Inquirer, mid-contract when that network launches. Vodafone, meanwhile, is simply pushing its 3G network with the new nano SIMs needed for the iPhone 5, as is Three.

Even those with LTE on their carrier of choice may find they’re unable to use 4G while they’re in another country. With no direct LTE roaming between the North American GSM iPhone 5 and the European/Asia GSM model, those hoping to hop between continents with seamless high-speed data will be disappointed.

Somewhat comically, given CDMA’s history of being limited in terms of roaming, the CDMA iPhone 5 may be the best bet for international roaming, as it supports the same three bands of the Euro GSM version. Verizon told ArsTechnica that it would be “surveying which markets line up best with the frequencies available in our version of the iPhone 5″ when global roaming is enabled “in the future.” However, the three models don’t only vary by LTE bands; the UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA bands they each support are different too.

It’s worth noting that this 4G headache is nowhere near a problem limited to the iPhone 5, though it’s likely to be Apple’s handset that draws the greatest attention to the fragmented condition of LTE roll-out. Existing Android LTE phones, on sale for some time now, are also limited to 4G in specific markets, so even those with so-called “global roaming” support max out at 3G when abroad.

Despite hopes for a seven-band LTE radio based on Qualcomm technology, it seems size and other limitations have forced Apple’s hand when it comes to catering to the most territories with the least number of versions. For now, it’s worth doing some research if you’re hoping to use your new iPhone 5 with LTE in more than one country.

More on the iPhone 5 in our full hands-on!

The 4G migraine: iPhone 5 highlights scrappy LTE is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

iPhone 5 LTE connectivity is looking increasingly likely, hours ahead of the much-anticipated smartphone’s official debut, with claims of confirmation that the Apple device will run on new 4G network EE. Sources have supposedly verified to the Guardian that 4G infrastructure vendors have been testing iPhone 5 LTE handsets compatible with EE’s 1800MHz band 4G, and that Apple has apparently registered the new devices with the GSMA in filings yet to be made public.

The chatter comes as no great surprise, given the sway of the rumor-machine over the past months. LTE had long been anticipated for the new iPhone, particularly after the company included it in the new iPad, with Apple refusing to add it to the iPhone 4S over concerns about early radio chipset bulk and battery demands.

What’s been more uncertain, however, is which exact bands the iPhone’s LTE might be compatible with, a thorny issue of fragmentation given there are believed to be around 36 different frequencies in active 4G deployment around the world. No one iPhone could hope to cater to them all, meaning some countries (and operators) will be forced to do without 4G.

EE dropped a heavy hint at its launch yesterday that a new device was fast incoming with LTE support for the UK network, though declined to confirm that it was, indeed, the iPhone. Previous leaks indicated Apple would attempt to spread compatibility among networks worldwide, though failed to specify which they might be.

According to this latest insider, UK iPhone 5 testing by Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Ericsson has been underway “for some weeks both in labs and in public places.” In the US, the handset is expected to run on LTE networks operated by Verizon and AT&T, though we don’t yet know whether a single device will deliver that or if Apple will release two versions.

Join us at 10AM PT (1PM ET; 6PM UK) for all the news as it happens at live.slashgear.com!

iPhone 5 LTE support for EE 4G reportedly a done-deal is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

New UK combo-carrier EE will be the only carrier in the UK to offer the Nokia Lumia 920, it’s been confirmed, with the Windows Phone 8 smartphone offering LTE connectivity. Pricing for the flagship Lumia has not been announced, nor availability, though EE says it intends to begin 4G operations in four cities from today.

The actual commercial launch will come a little later however; the first LTE light-up is really for engineers from the carrier to test things out and make sure the 4G system is running smoothly. Today is the first day EE has been legally allowed to operate an LTE network, according to UK regulator approval.

The Lumia 920 will be accompanied by the Lumia 820, though that won’t apparently be an exclusive with EE. Also uncertain – though likely – is whether EE will be offering the Lumia 920 via the two 3G carriers it includes, T-Mobile and Orange, though since the new network’s 4G service isn’t expected to go live in sixteen cities until the end of the year, we can’t see either EE or Nokia being keen to limit sales of the smartphone.

EE is yet to announce pricing for the phone, or indeed for any of its LTE service packages, though there won’t be a prepay option for 4G data. More on EE – including speedtests – here.

Nokia Lumia 920 is EE UK LTE exclusive is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

EE‘s 4G LTE network is already live, and so we grabbed some hands-on time to see just how quickly the new breed of 4G handsets set to hit the UK can run. The numbers – on what’s an unstressed network, it’s worth remembering – are certainly impressive, with download rates in excess of 34Mbps and uploads of over 22Mbps at times.

The more usual rates we saw were in the 26-30Mbps download range, here in London, while uploads generally hovered in the range of 12-13Mbps. Peak bursts improved those numbers considerably, while ping times hovered around the 60-70ms mark.

Of course, it’s easy to see ridiculously high speeds when there’s hardly anyone else using the network; we saw similarly eye-watering figures from Verizon’s initial benchmarking in the US. That settled into somewhat less incredible numbers eventually, though still well in excess of what 3G could deliver.

EE is talking about LTE speeds around 4-5x what the current 3G network offers, which is still a considerable improvement, though we’ll need to wait until the roll-out begins in the tail-end of 2012 to see how it holds up in practice. The first four cities go live from today, broadening to sixteen cities by the end of the year.

EE 4G LTE hands-on: Speed tests! is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

New 4G carrier EE will launch its LTE network from today, with four cities getting pilot service, ahead of sixteen cities by Christmas 2012. The initial service will go live in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Bristol today, with EE claiming to have over 20 million people covered across the UK by the end of the year.

The four initial cities will be followed by a further twelve. Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Southampton, Hull, Nottingham, and Derby will all go live by the end of 2012.

EE’s plans don’t end there, either. By the end of 2013, the carrier expects to have 70-percent coverage across the country; that number will rise to 98-percent by the end of 2014.

Fiber, meanwhile, will be available to more than 11 million households and offices by the end of the year.

EE 4G roll-out plans revealed is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.