Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Korean Carriers Reportedly Negotiating with Apple for 800/1800 MHz LTE Service on Next iPhone

chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
macneubie said:
for this release, it is likely Apple will only fit baseband chips to match the telco market they are selling. fitting all the bands from 700MHz to 2600MHz is simply not practical at all. for a start the costs for these multi-band chips will be prohibitively high.

imagine if the LTE phone goes out of 4G coverage, the time it takes to scan all the frequencies in an attempt to find its home network will take ages to complete.

so in this respect, the new iPhone will not likely be a world phone where one can roam around LTE networks wherever countries have LTE service.

Also, it will be at best 2T2R mimo configuration, but that depends on operator support again. one thing for sure, the battery life will suck big time as I'm currently using the upcoming Galaxy Note 2 with support of 1800MHz LTE.
Click to expand...

The problem isn't the multi-mode chip, as it's still just 1 chip. The problem is designing the antenna system and amplification system for such a wide bandwidth of frequencies.

Qualcomm's new Gobi chip is extremely capable, and its successor capable of LTE Advanced (true LTE) has even already been announced, although I don't see a reason for Apple to include that in 2013 devices. They'll probably incorporate a 20nm or 14nm version down the road.

And how do we know you're using the Galaxy Note 2? Pictures? Specs?
 

Attachments

  • gobi.PNG
    gobi.PNG
    70.4 KB · Views: 174
M

macneubie

macrumors regular
Aug 8, 2011
150
0
chrmjenkins said:
The problem isn't the multi-mode chip, as it's still just 1 chip. The problem is designing the antenna system and amplification system for such a wide bandwidth of frequencies.

Qualcomm's new Gobi chip is extremely capable, and its successor capable of LTE Advanced (true LTE) has even already been announced, although I don't see a reason for Apple to include that in 2013 devices. They'll probably incorporate a 20nm or 14nm version down the road.

And how do we know you're using the Galaxy Note 2? Pictures? Specs?
Click to expand...

antennas, they can incorporate 2 duplexed antennas within the body, after all an antenna is nothing more than a microstrip pcb that works with all frequencies, with varying orders of efficiency wrt to the signal wavelength.

what's the frequency bands this LTE adv support? i tend to think their specs can be as high as they want it, but its a question of carrier support. As far as I know, LTE adv is still not ratified, so it maybe to presumptuous to have this LTE adv moniker. nobody knows will the chipset support 300mbps down/75mbps up with 64QAM uplink with 4x mimo capabilities.

Samsung has loaned a prototype Note2 for trial and UAT, that's all I can say. but it won't be too long before they commercially launch it. First impressions are good, blazing fast response with significantly reduced latency vis-a-vis HSPA networks.
 
Last edited:
nick_elt

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
Could use the facetime camera no? if it detects a fatty switch to "american mode"...






jk.
 
K

koban4max

macrumors 68000
Aug 23, 2011
1,582
0
ddarko said:
LTE frequency support is especially troublesome for Apple because it tries to have a single device that can sell globally and avoid regional hardware customization. Other device makers have no problem introducing country-specific phones but Apple has tried to avoid that although obviously, if the market is big enough they will do it, e.g. AT&T LTE iPad and a Verizon LTE iPad. Software radio frequency tuners have been in the works for years but it's still not commercially deployed.
Click to expand...

You saying Apple is not capable to make region specific?
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
macneubie said:
antennas, they can incorporate 2 duplexed antennas within the body, after all an antenna is nothing more than a microstrip pcb that works with all frequencies, with varying orders of efficiency wrt to the signal wavelength.
Click to expand...

Yes, then everyone's performance degrades just so that they can all be accommodated (particularly for the higher bands with poorer penetration). Cue iPhone 4 like complaints again without an acute attenuation point, or decrease battery life to boost power on all channels to compensate.
 
CJM

CJM

macrumors 68000
May 7, 2005
1,536
1,057
U.K.
It's such a joke that the UK hasn't sorted out its 4G network yet. Considering we're such a tiny country and all. I can't even reliably get 3G on motorways.
 
JS82712

JS82712

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2009
799
0
It always amuses me when I see apple calling the 4S a "world phone"; make it a penta-band phone then we'll talk.n:rolleyes:
 
M

moniker

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2007
52
0
London, UK
CJM said:
It's such a joke that the UK hasn't sorted out its 4G network yet. Considering we're such a tiny country and all. I can't even reliably get 3G on motorways.
Click to expand...

I'm amazed the UK doesn't have 3G coverage on the underground system. I've been to several other large European cities, with great 3G coverage on the underground.

But then, we tend to call 8 Mbps broadband "superfast", which other European countries find terribly funny.
 
O

orthorim

Suspended
Feb 27, 2008
733
350
Koodauw said:
It only makes sense that the iPhone 5 will support these spectrums for LTE use in Europe and other countries around the world. Did anyone think this would be left out?
Click to expand...

Yep, how likely is it that Apple releases a US-only LTE phone? Unlikely.

That said, it looks like most of Europe doesn't even have LTE yet so they may save full on rollout for the iPhone 6.

----------
CJM said:
It's such a joke that the UK hasn't sorted out its 4G network yet. Considering we're such a tiny country and all. I can't even reliably get 3G on motorways.
Click to expand...
Europe in general seems to be behind in LTE... the spectrum to use was only approved in March, 2012.
 
Amazing Iceman

Amazing Iceman

macrumors 603
Nov 8, 2008
5,315
4,066
Florida, U.S.A.
AppleFan115 said:
I wonder what effect this would have on T-Mobile. I dont need LTE, I'll definitely jump ship if they can give 4g speeds on T-Mobile.
Click to expand...

Heh! I was about to ask that... I don't remember the frequencies used by T-Mobile, but I do recall that I read somewhere that the new iPhone chipset was going to be able to support more frequencies, making it a global phone. Someone please clarify that. Thanks! :D
 
iSee

iSee

macrumors 68040
Oct 25, 2004
3,539
272
MacRumors said:
...Notably, the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands are also the spectrum being used for LTE in Europe, Australia, and other markets, and thus hardware compatibility with those frequencies could significantly expand the number of countries and carriers on which the next iPhone could support LTE connectivity.
Click to expand...

I can't believe Apple would go to market without supporting LTE in Europe.
 
Z

Z4KBrindle

macrumors newbie
Aug 15, 2012
5
0
CJM said:
It's such a joke that the UK hasn't sorted out its 4G network yet. Considering we're such a tiny country and all. I can't even reliably get 3G on motorways.
Click to expand...

Agreed, 3G in most areas around the UK is horrific, and i cant get it on motorways, And in a lot of places i end up having either No Service, or low service at that. It is alot better in towns and citys but when traveling.. UK aint doing to great :(
 
rjohnstone

rjohnstone

macrumors 68040
Dec 28, 2007
3,896
4,493
PHX, AZ.
koban4max said:
You saying Apple is not capable to make region specific?
Click to expand...
They are capable, but it will cost them more to produce region/country specific phones than it would to make one that does it all (which is currently not possible).
Different frequencies require different antennae configurations.
So Apple will have to decide to either limit distribution, limit supported frequencies or make multiple versions based on region.
They currently choose the limited support model, but this will bite them in the rear eventually.
 
kdarling

kdarling

macrumors P6
Jun 9, 2007
17,373
5,924
First university coding class = 47 years ago
ghostface147 said:
Too bad there isn't a worldwide standard on frequencies. Not even the US has one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you know it's funny...

People talk about GSM being a world standard, but a bit over ten years ago there weren't many phones that could be used worldwide, due to all the frequencies that had to be supported.

Then when UMTS-3G hit, it became a problem again.

Now, we're going through it one more time with LTE.

Deja vu!
 
Mr. Retrofire

Mr. Retrofire

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2010
5,064
519
www.emiliana.cl/en
MacRumors said:
Notably, the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands are also the spectrum being used for LTE in Europe, Australia, and other markets, and thus hardware compatibility with those frequencies could significantly expand the number of countries and carriers on which the next iPhone could support LTE connectivity.
Click to expand...
This no secret. The new Qualcomm-chips are available in Q4/2012, and these chips support all LTE bands. See also:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14471472#post14471472
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom