Yesterday the people from Engadget they published a first picture of an AT&T LTE device installed in an Apple store in the US. The installation of this kind of equipment is more than strange considering that at the moment no iPhone terminal is compatible with this technology. The information provided by Engadget follows an article published by BGR which states that mobile phone operators are already testing iPhone terminals compatible with LTE technology. Although these equipments are available in AT&T stores, the operator has not yet launched the national network and will not do so until the end of the year.
In tune with the information from Engadget we find out that Verizon is installing equipment for the same type of LTE networks in Apple stores, a sign that Apple has also produced iPhone LTE terminals compatible with Verizon's network. At the moment, none of the 2 American networks has an LTE network launched nationally, so it is very unlikely that Apple will launch an LTE iPhone that does not have which networks to work on. If you remember, the iPhone 2G was launched only with EDGE connectivity because AT&T's network could not support 3G connectivity, but starting with the iPhone 3G, Apple constantly improved connection speeds to data networks.
For Romania, the launch of an LTE iPhone matters less now, considering that no operator has national coverage for this standard. At the beginning of this year, Orange launched an LTE project in Moldova and in 2012 we will have the same type of network in Romania. Of course, everything will start in Bucharest and it will take a long time until it reaches the national scale, but Orange makes its plans according to the available LTE terminals and at the moment it does not have many in its portfolio.
In conclusion, iPhone LTE only in 2012 because for now few networks are strong enough to support it.
