There have been endless words about the iPhone 5 including fourth generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) support. These rumors first originated when traces of fourth generation LTE was found in iOS 5.1 code. This was later followed by a number of code hooks, hardware hints and words from reliable sources.

iPhone 5 Concept

iPhone 5 and LTE:

The question lies as to whether there will be support to the wide range of frequencies currently available in different countries all around the world. News came from South Korea that South Korean telcos have been contacting Apple and trying to get it to support 1.8 gigahertz LTE frequency present in South Korea. This is what Korea Times said regarding iPhone 5 and LTE issue:

“The company, which joined the race for LTE-enabled smartphones later rivals SK and LG, is trying to persuade Apple to have its new iPhone support LTE connectivity, according to KT officials.

SK Telecom is also pushing for the same. Officials from the nation’s biggest mobile carrier are currently in Apple headquarters in California to persuade Apple to support SK’s LTE frequency for its local customers.”

KT has 1.4 million mobile phone users and SK Telecom has over four million LTE subscribers.

Some might say that the Korean carriers are a little late in negotiating this deal with the fruit company as we are just weeks away from the iPhone 5’s release and is currently being assembled in China. Could this mean that the new iPhone will support multiple frequencies?

However, Korea is not one of the countries that receive the new iOS devices in the first round. Usually Korea is amongst the second batch of countries the iPhone reach. This could mean that Korea still has time to negotiate as its iPhones are not being manufactured yet.

If you remember, the new iPad did not support LTE frequencies in Korea while it did support the 700MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands used in the U.S, U.K, Canada and a few other countries. SK Telecom uses 800MHz frequency bands and 1800 MH as its secondary band and both were not supported by Apple’s new iPad. These are same frequencies being used in Australia, Europe and a number of other big markets. Will this be the fate of the iPhone 5 too?

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