This evening the company Apple has officially presented the new iPhone 5 and it is compatible with 4G LTE and 3G networks in many countries around the world. Although last year Apple claimed that its iPhone is "global" and works on any network in the world, this year the device will be available in three separate versions: two GSM and one CDMA. A1428 will be the GSM model and A1429 will be the CDMA model, but a new GSM model has the same code. The first model A1428 will be compatible with 3G networks worldwide, but only with 4G LTE in the US and Canada, the second model A1429 CDMA will be compatible with CDMA 3G/4G networks, and the third model A1249 GSM will be compatible with networks 3G worldwide, but it will only work on 4G LTE in Europe and probably Asia.
The A1428 GSM model and A1429 CDMA model both support LTE, HSPA+, and DC-HSPA, but they do so on different bands for the various carriers that the iPhone 5 will be available on. Apple also lists a second A1429 model with support for more GSM bands than the A1428 version. Based on the specs provided by Apple, the A1428 will be carried by AT&T and Canadian operators (with support for LTE on bands 4 and 17), while the A1429 will be available from Sprint and Verizon in the US and KDDI in Japan (with LTE on bands 1, 3, 5, 13, and 25). The GSM A1429 supports LTE on bands 1, 3, and 5 and will likely be offered in global markets such as the UK, Germany, Australia, Korea, and Japan.
Basically, in order to provide support for as many 4G LTE networks as possible, those from Apple had to divide the iPhone 5 terminals into 3 different versions and the bad part is that you cannot buy an iPhone 5 from the USA to use it on the 4G LTE networks in Europe because it might not work. On 2G/3G/3G+ networks the device should work, but the rest of the compatibility is debatable to zero. The terminal will work on the 4G LTE networks in Romania when they are launched, but you must have the GSM A1249 version.
Here you have it a detailed list of compatibility.
