Ok lets talk iPhone. As the perennial most talked about topic on the internet anytime apple announces a new one, this week saw the unveiling of the iPhone 5. And while all its new whistles and bells triggered applause and salivating on the part of iPhone fans all over the world, there is at least one bit of bad news people in Europe may not be aware of – the iPhone 5 will not function on 4G networks.
That’s right. While many in the telecom biz see iPhone as the device that will bring their 4G networks to the forefront, it turns out, Apple’s new phone does not work on the European 4G on the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands. Instead it functions on the 1.8GHz band, the frequency used for voice calls by most networks in Europe. The company will build three versions of the new iPhone, one for AT&T, one for Verizon (both US carriers), and a third for the rest of the world. This third version will only function on 4G for a few telecoms in the EU. Namely, Deutch Telekom in Germany and Everything Everywhere in the UK. Everyone else will be using their brand new iphone 5 on the old 3G networks for the time being.
Interestingly Europe and Asia are said to be lagging behind the US when it comes to the building of 4G networks. A sharp contrast from the old days where Europe was far ahead of the US when it comes to mobile communications infrastructure. In an effort to bridge that gap, European operators are expected to spend $15.25 billion over the next three years to boost their 4G networks.
PS- Just because you have an iPhone 4, don’t think you have 4G capability either. A recent survey shows 46 percent of iPhone 4 users believe they have 4G capability, even though they don’t.
Source: News Daily
Photo: methodshop / flickr
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