Apple’s iPhone 5 Is LTE / 4G Capable, Verizon CFO Suggests

Comments made by Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo during a conference call discussing the operator’s earnings indicate Apple is building an iPhone that falls in the ‘global device’ category.

Most likely referring to a world-mode phone supporting both the GSM and CDMA connectivity standards - as opposed to the current lineup which features separate models for the two standards - Shammo provided almost direct confirmation that Apple’s next iPhone will be capable of both standards in a single configuration.

The CFO made his interesting comments when queried on the sluggishness of the company's ARPU growth in its first fiscal quarter.

This was precisely when the iPhone 4 was introduced to the carrier, when growth was just 2.2%, compared to 2.5% in Q4, according to Barron's.

"The fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device," Shammo said.

Based on Shammo’s remarks, it is now being speculated that an iPhone 5 presumably using the 4G standard dubbed “Long Term Evolution” would allow the carrier to sell a phone that supports networks across Europe and other parts of the world.

Apple had been rumored to be building a ‘world’ phone even before the iPhone 4 was introduced.

Earlier this year, a new job advertisement at Apple listed the integration of LTE in iOS devices as a “specific duty,” in what was regarded as a clear sign that the company was building devices with LTE 4G connection capabilities.

While many analysts concur that Apple’s next iPhone will not launch this summer, a fifth-generation device is on the roadmap for this year, most likely launching by September, the latest.