| | | Ruh-Roh. Houston, we have a problem...
Sprint and China Mobile's 2.5 GHz TD-LTE left out of Apple's new iPhones
September 10, 2013 | By Phil Goldstein
fiercewireless.com
Apple's ( NASDAQ:AAPL) newest iPhones, the iPhone 5S and 5C, don't support TD-LTE in the 2.5 GHz band, although that could eventually change if Apple strikes a deal with China Mobile or Sprint.
Apple claims its new iPhones support more LTE bands than any smartphone in the world. Indeed, according to Apple's updated LTE webpage, the devices do support more LTE bands than the iPhone 5 did, including Band 7 (2.6 GHz) and Band 20 (800 MHz), which should benefit more European operators.
In the United States, the new iPhones support the existing LTE networks of Verizon Wireless ( NYSE:VZ), AT&T Mobility ( NYSE:T), Sprint ( NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US ( NYSE:TMUS). The phone supports the 700 MHz bands used by Verizon and AT&T, the 1900 MHz band (Band 25) used by Sprint and the 1700 MHz band (Band 4) used by T-Mobile. U.S. Cellular ( NYSE:USM) has said it will launch the iPhone later this year using 850 MHz spectrum (Band 5).
Apple lists support for several LTE 800 MHz bands (Band 18, 19, 20 and 26) but it's not clear if that includes Sprint's planned 800 MHz LTE buildout. Sprint has said in the late third quarter it will begin deploying LTE service on the 800 MHz spectrum it previously used for iDEN services. A Sprint spokeswoman did not immediately have a comment and an Apple spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What is clear is that the new iPhones do not support TD-LTE on 2.5 GHz spectrum; China Mobile is using TD-LTE network technology in 2.5 GHz for its next-generation network rollout. Apple has schedule a satellite iPhone event in China for Wednesday, Sept. 11, but it is unclear if Apple will announce any kind of agreement with China Mobile then.
In the United States, Sprint would definitely benefit from the addition of TD-LTE support in the iPhone. Sprint plans to use Clearwire's 2.5 GHz spectrum for a nationwide TD-LTE rollout to complement its existing FDD-LTE service on 1900 MHz and its planned 800 MHz deployment. Steve Elfman, president of network operations at Sprint, said that beginning in 2014, all of the carrier's devices will be capable of operating on 2.5 GHz TD-LTE spectrum, which will increase the speed and capacity of Sprint's devices.
As for the iPhone? "We can't confirm anything on the iPhone at this time or anytime," Elfman said on Sprint's second-quarter earnings conference call in late July, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. "So take my comments to all the other devices this point in time and we'll wait to see what Apple does in the future." |
|
