Apple to Expand LTE Support to 36 Additional Carriers in Several Countries

iphone 5 black whiteDuring today's Financial Results call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that 36 additional carriers will be providing LTE connectivity for the iPhone and the iPad next week.

"Next week," said Tim Cook, "we're adding 36 more carriers for LTE support. These carriers will be in countries that we are not currently supporting LTE."

While Cook did not name all 36 carriers that would be getting LTE, he did mention that they are in regions like Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, the Philippines, and the Middle East. Currently, 24 carriers offer LTE for the iPhone and the iPad, in countries like the United States, Australia, South Korea, the U.K., Germany, Canada, and Japan.

Apple has been slow to roll out LTE connectivity, leading to complaints over the "4G" in the third generation iPad's name when it was released. Apple later changed it to the iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular in response.

When asked if the slow pace of LTE rollouts has had an impact on iPhone sales, Cook skirted the question, but he did mention the plans to roll out LTE in the aforementioned countries during the next week, and had this to say: "We feel really good about the situation we are in, particularly with these adds next week."

Top Rated Comments

mrsir2009 Avatar
140 months ago
LTE requires new base stations. Not likely, with < 10.000.000 people in sweden.

Well New Zealand only has 4 million people, less than half that of Sweden, and our no.1 carrier is beginning work on a 4G LTE network: http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/mobile/ournetwork/buildinga4gfuture/ (http://www.telecom.co.nz/mobile/mobile/ournetwork/buildinga4gfuture/)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
quaresma Avatar
140 months ago
LTE requires new base stations. Not likely, with < 10.000.000 people in sweden.
LOL what are you talking about? Denmark has a population of 5.500.000 and yet we get LTE support next week.

You can't base LTE support on population count
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
filip20 Avatar
140 months ago
LTE requires new base stations. Not likely, with < 10.000.000 people in sweden.

What are you talking about? Sweden already have 4G (LTE) and was the first country in the world with a commercial 4G network.

Sweden has ≈ 21 people per square kilometre, and denmark has 130 people per square kilometre.

The absolute majority lives in southern Sweden.

Denmark has how many fjords (difficult locations)?

Are you high or just retarded?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MathijsDelva Avatar
140 months ago
To all the people who are suprised Apple is enabling LTE support (through carrier settings): i take it you are mostly Americans? There are countless, literally, countless threads here on MacRumours and Apple Disccusions about this issue. The whole world is pissed at Apple for this: we buy an unlocked phone (which means: hardware you can use freely on any sort of system, network, ...) yet somehow, Apple is deliberately blocking software LTE support in at least 36 countries (with probably loads more). Our main LTE carrier in Belgium has been trying to get LTE supported (which is insane, since they use the correct band) through Apple for about 4 months now, without any reaction..
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wschutz Avatar
140 months ago
LTE requires new base stations. Not likely, with < 10.000.000 people in sweden.

Maybe if you had done your research before opening that big mouth you would know that Sweden was the first country in the world (with Norway) to have LTE...

That Apple doesn't support the bands used in some countries it doesn't mean these countries don't have LTE (moreover... you wish you had the quality of internet Swedish have... and also the price), but hey... no hard feelings.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Northgrove Avatar
140 months ago
Still no Sweden :(
LTE requires new base stations. Not likely, with < 10.000.000 people in sweden.
Swedish Telenor and Tele2 have just started trial runs on the 1800 MHz band supported by the iPhone 5 in order to bring LTE support to Sweden. This actually hit the news yesterday. The coincidence with Cook's tease here about expansions to new countries lines up with Sweden's latest trials, and I think Swedish Tele2 and Telenor will be among the countries/carriers officially added, possibly with the final release of iOS 6.1 or iOS 7. (they have told media that a software update to iPhone and iPad will still be necessary despite the carriers technically supporting the bandwidth in the future)

An initiative like this is no doubt made in cooperation with, or at least with endorsement by, Apple. I think there's no way they would go through this otherwise, due to how popular Android devices already support LTE in Sweden via the 800 MHz band.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Multi Display CarPlay 1

All-New Apple CarPlay Launching Later This Year With These 5 New Features

Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issue With iOS 17 Update

Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
BMW Logo iPhone 15 Pro

Warning: BMW Wireless Charging May Break iPhone 15's Apple Pay Chip

Sunday October 1, 2023 6:14 am PDT by
If you have an iPhone 15 and drive a BMW, it might be best to avoid charging the device with the vehicle's wireless charging pad for now. Over the past week, some BMW owners have complained that their iPhone 15's NFC chip no longer works after charging the device with their vehicle's wireless charging pad, according to comments shared on the MacRumors Forums and X, formerly known as Twitter. ...
iPhone 16 Side Feature

iPhone 16 and 16 Pro: Preliminary Weights and Dimensions

Friday September 29, 2023 12:34 pm PDT by
MacRumors has obtained preliminary information on the weights and dimensions planned for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The information corroborates previous reports suggesting that the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will feature larger displays. iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Current information suggests that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will maintain the same...
CarPlay SharePlay

CarPlay Not Working for Some iPhone 15 Users, Possibly Because of USB-C Cables

Friday September 29, 2023 2:27 pm PDT by
CarPlay is not working as expected for some iPhone 15 users, an issue that is likely linked to the transition to USB-C. There are multiple complaints from MacRumors readers and Reddit users who are unable to get CarPlay to work with their new devices. Cable type and available port options are a common theme in the CarPlay reports, with many of the functionality problems linked to USB-A to...
iPhone 15 USB C Port Keynote

Some USB-C Power Banks Fail to Work With iPhone 15

Thursday September 28, 2023 2:06 pm PDT by
Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's iPhone 15, resulting in charging issues. As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the iPhone 15 models, perhaps due to the...