iPhone 5 4G: The Apple iPhone 5 4G LTE Expansion

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iPhone 5 4G: Apple Inc (AAPL)Next week, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has plans to double the number of carriers that offer 4G LTE data service for the iPhone 5. Once this expansion is up and running across the globe, it will be interesting to see what it does for the company’s sales numbers.

At this time, there are 24 carriers that support the data service. Apple is adding 36 more, working with carriers from one side of the globe to the next.

According to AppleInsider, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is expecting big things out of this expansion project. Here is what Cook had to say:

“Today we have 24 carriers around the world that provide LTE support for iPhone 5. Those are in countries like the US, Korea, the UK, Germany, Canada Japan, Australia and a few others.”

“Next week, we’re adding 36 more carriers for LTE support. These carriers will be in countries that we are not currently supporting LTE.”

Some countries are long overdue for this service, while others may be surprised to find that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is beginning to partner with local carriers.

The same article goes on to add the following:

“Cook specifically noted new carriers “in Italy, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Philippines, and also several middle eastern countries,” pointing out that “if you look at the total of all of these, the incremental subscribers in those countries it’s over 300 million.”

“That subscriber total of the 36 country expansion is just over 10 percent larger than Verizon Wireless, which is currently the world’s largest LTE carrier, with about 257 million subscribers. Verizon just announced having sold 9.8 million smartphones in the winter quarter, 6.2 million of which were iPhones.”

While this is a big deal for the company, there are other reasons to get excited. For example, Cook talked extensively about the ability for the iPhone 5 to work with other advanced data networks. This is another selling point for those who are looking to purchase an iPhone 5.

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