Verizon Talks Global iPhone 5, LTE Support

When it comes to the iPhone 5, the iPhone 4S... whatever Apple's next iPhone is called, hardly a week goes by without us hearing another rumor about the device's capabilities. Will it have a screen out to the edge? Who will manufacture the camera? Last month Verizon CFO Fran Shammo dropped the possibility of the device supporting global roaming, meaning the Verizon edition - assuming Apple doesn't go with a unified hardware design with all needed bands on-board - would be a dual CDMA/GSM phone. In a new interview with Reuters, Shammo's back taking about the next iPhone's radio, confirming its global abilities and touching upon the possibility of an LTE-enabled iPhone. 

In the interview, Shammo blames disappointing Verizon iPhone sales on customer expectations that, after they waited so long for the carrier to get the iPhone, it should have supported 4G LTE communications. What they got instead wasn't different enough from AT&T's iPhone 4 to warrant the purchase, causing them to hold off even longer, he reasons. 

Shammo asserts that the next iPhone will launch at the same time on Verizon and AT&T, and that Verizon will no longer be at a disadvantage when it comes to customers interested in an iPhone they can still use while globetrotting. While he's certain at least when it comes to that aspect of the phone's cellular radio, he seems less than certain when it comes to the possibility of LTE support. We've heard rumors that Apple will likely skip LTE for this next version of the iPhone, holding off for a 2012 release. From Shammo's statements, it appears this decision is very much Apple's, with Verizon not seeming to have much input. Verizon will ultimately make the best with whatever hardware Apple provides it.