The iPhone5 will work on the fastest wireless networks around the world—including in the U.S., Europe and Asia—though it is unlikely to be available on every carrier, people familiar with the matter said.
The technical compatibility with so-called LTE networks removes a competitive danger for Apple and gives carriers a chance to sell their fastest data services to Apple’s base of iPhone customers.
Smartphone makers, including market leader Samsung Electronics Co., have begun offering LTE phones globally. That has given them a selling point that so far Apple has lacked.
Wireless carriers are eager to drive more customers to those networks, which are more efficient and could spur faster growth in data revenue by making it easier for consumers to use services like streaming video.
Apple is expected to unveil its latest iPhone, which will also have a slightly larger screen, at a press event in San Francisco on Sept. 12. Analysts have widely expected the new phone to support LTE.
It isn’t likely to work with all carriers’ LTE networks in all countries, the people said, though it wasn’t clear which would be left out.
Read more: WSJ
