The iPhone 5<\/strong> is Apple\u2019s first mobile handset that uses new \u201cLTE\u201d wireless networks. What\u2019s LTE \u2014and why should you care? Here are some answers.<\/p>\n Q: What does LTE stand for?<\/p>\n A: It\u2019s \u201cLong-Term Evolution,\u201d but that doesn\u2019t really tell you anything. It\u2019s actually the latest and fastest way to transmit data from cellular towers to phones and other gadgets. It\u2019s one of two so-called \u201cfourth-generation,\u201d or 4G, wireless technologies that have been deployed by various phone companies. (The other one is WiMax, which is available on Sprint phones. But WiMax coverage is low, isn\u2019t being expanded, and even Sprint is betting on LTE for the future).<\/p>\n Q: How fast is LTE? Will it make a difference to me?<\/p>\n A: LTE networks in the U.S. reach speeds up to 20 megabits per second. That\u2019s faster than most people get at home, with their cable or DSL services. It\u2019s also faster than older wireless networks, but the differences aren\u2019t always that big. Sprint and Verizon iPhone users should see a huge jump in speed with the new iPhone because their 3G networks are relatively slow. Downloads will be more than ten times faster where LTE is available. For AT&T users, downloads speeds should double or triple.<\/p>\n Q: Which phone companies have LTE, and where can I get it?<\/p>\n A: Verizon Wireless launched its LTE network nearly two years ago. It has the widest coverage, by far: 370 cities. AT&T is second, with 62 cities. Sprint is only in the early stages of its buildout, and LTE coverage is spotty, for now. It covers 19 cities, mostly in Texas and Georgia. But Sprint has said that it plans to fire up New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and some other cities in the next few months.<\/p>\n Q: My iPhone 4S already says it connects to \u201c4G.\u201d Doesn\u2019t that mean LTE?<\/p>\n A: No, AT&T jumped the gun a bit and called its upgraded, non-LTE network \u201c4G\u201d because the speeds were so much higher than before. Apple went along with this, so the AT&T iPhone 4S displays \u201c4G\u201d in the status bar at the top of the screen even though it\u2019s connecting to a 3G network.<\/p>\n Q:<\/p>\n A: No, Apple hasn\u2019t been a trailblazer here. The first LTE phones showed up a year and a half ago, from other manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. This year, it\u2019s become a standard feature in high-end smartphones.<\/p>\n Q: Verizon and AT&T have been using different types of networks. Now they\u2019re both on LTE. Does that mean I can move phones between the companies?<\/p>\n A: Unfortunately, no. They use different frequencies for LTE, and the iPhone 5 will come in two different versions. One connects to AT&T\u2019s LTE bands, the other to Sprint\u2019s and Verizon\u2019s. (There will be a third one for overseas LTE networks.)<\/p>\n Q: Is there any downside to LTE?<\/p>\n A: Not really, but as you go from 3G to LTE, you might want to keep a closer eye on your data consumption for a while. Surveys show people have higher data usage on LTE, possibly because it lets you download more stuff, faster. It also makes it easier to enjoy video streaming and videoconferencing. AT&T and Verizon now limit monthly data usage (in practice, even for people who have the old \u201cunlimited\u201d plans), while Sprint still provides unlimited data.<\/p>\n Early LTE phones had shorter battery lives, but the chips now draw less power, and Apple promises the same amount of effective use time on LTE as on older networks.<\/p>\n Q: Will the LTE capability mean anything for phone calls?<\/p>\n A:<\/p>\n In the future, LTE will likely be used for calls as well, and it\u2019s possible that could mean improved audio quality. (Apple has its own scheme for improving audio quality, unrelated to LTE. But it\u2019s unclear if U.S. carriers will support it.)<\/p>\n P.S. Hey, my name is Amy Findley , and I just wanted to share this with you. If your ready to make a change and make money\u2026click on the take action picture below now!<\/p>\n P.S.S Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to share this on Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter. I\u2019d really appreciate it and thanks so much! If you can\u2019t comment, it means that we\u2019re still in the middle of our Facebook Protest (click here), and we invite you to join us, in keeping free speech alive!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The iPhone 5 and LTE _ what it means for you The iPhone 5 is Apple\u2019s first mobile handset that uses new \u201cLTE\u201d wireless networks. What\u2019s LTE \u2014and why should you care? Here are some answers. Q: What does LTE stand for? A: It\u2019s \u201cLong-Term Evolution,\u201d but that doesn\u2019t really tell you anything. It\u2019s actually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":560,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,1],"tags":[310,311,4,312,313],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized","tag-cellphone","tag-cellphones","tag-empower-network","tag-iphone5","tag-lte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/dreamer12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is the iPhone 5<\/em> the first LTE phone?<\/h2>\n
For now, LTE networks carry only data, so the iPhone 5<\/span> will use older networks when connecting calls.<\/h3>\n