Carriers need Apple’s blessing for iPhone 5 to run on LTE
Here’s a head scratcher that shouldn’t surprise you: Before Apple allows its iPhone 5 to be on any LTE cellular network, they need to approve of that network first.
I suppose it’s just another way of ensuring everything is absolutely perfect.
Telecoms.com reported this news today, saying that Apples allows support for LTE to existing iPhone 5 models, but only after the initial testing on the carrier network itself.
This week, however, a Swisscom spokesperson told Telecoms.com that: “Apple only enables 4G access after testing their device on an operator’s live network.”
Swisscom launched its LTE network this week although the iPhone 5 was not available as an LTE device at launch. “Apple will provide a software update in due course,” the firm said in a press release.
Why is this news? Well, Apple has been slowly releasing the iPhone 5 in countries that don’t officially support LTE on any carriers. When some of those carriers eventually get LTE, Apple will have to do their extensive testing to make sure their network is worthy of the iPhone 5.
