The stumbling block encountered by the new iPad in our country has once again become apparent with the iPhone 5 in terms of fourth generation connectivity. During the presentation of the new Apple phone it was already clear: only in Germany and the United Kingdom can LTE networks be accessed from an iPhone 5 in Europe. The rest of Europe will have to wait. And in the case of Spain, most likely not even that.
The question is in the frequency bands on which operates the new smartphone from those of Cupertino. In Spain, for the moment, the one dedicated to 2.6 GHz is used, on which Movistar, Vodafone and Orange are conducting closed tests for corporate clients. It is possible that another band, 800 MHz, could be used, but this would take a few years. And even so, the iPhone 5 is not supported. With neither of them.
The iPhone 5 is available in three models depending on its connectivity. In Spain the one coded as A1429 will be marketed. This edition operates between the LTE bands: 2,100 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 850 MHz. In Europe, it is the second of these that is enabled, although only Germany and the United Kingdom are those that enjoy it, as we say. The other two are intended to be used in other extracontinental regions, such as Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea or Hong Kong.
Against this background, and thus putting the chips on the table, the iPhone 5 cannot and will not work in LTE mode in Spain. The only possibility is that the distribution of frequencies will dance the water to Apple, and that the rest of mobile manufacturers will adapt their terminals in this sense in future launches destined for our country.
The story would be that the CMT would bend its arm and enable the 1,800 MHz band for high-speed LTE data traffic, so that iPhone 5 users could connect to these networks. But to do so, the current mapping would have to be modified, since at this time said frequency is used to channel the 3G networks of the four operators that work in our country. In case it was modified, there would be no problems: LTE for everyone and here peace, and then glory.
However, one might wonder if this is the move that one expects an official body to carry out in the commercial projection of a product. We are already finding that Apple has determined the standard for the identification of mobile lines "" it did it by imposing the microSIM to the detriment of the SIM, and with the iPhone 5 it has done it again with the nanoSIM in exchange for the microSIM "" Therefore, the modification in the assignment of frequencies for the use of 4G networks would be mediated, in practice, by the determination of a single manufacturer.
The iPhone 5 is, as we say, the latest release from Apple. It has a four-inch screen, an eight-megapixel camera and a processor twice as powerful as what we knew in the iPhone 4S. It has also modified its proprietary connector, which now requires an adapter to use accessories from previous generations of the phone.
