The iPhone 5 is rumored to be LTE 4G compatible. With Verizon being the largest 4G LTE provider in the United States, this could mean a lot of new customers for Verizon.
The likelihood of LTE on the iPhone 5 is high, there has been evidence of talks in Korea about the technology in the iPhone 5 and networks in the UK that are confirmed to receive the newest iPhone have started rushing out LTE networks. There has been somewhat of an LTE craze in America though; over the past two years Verizon has been building out its LTE network (which now covers , followed shortly by AT&T and more recently Sprint. With all of this attention on LTE, and Verizon holding the throne in LTE coverage, this could translate to a load of new customers.
This analysis comes from Jeffries & Co. analyst Thomas Seitz.
We believe this network advantage could lead to a share shift towards Verizon, primarily at AT&T’s expense,” Seitz said, “which we estimate could see its market share of iPhone sales decline modestly to 45 percent in 3Q12 from 47 percent in 2Q12.
This doesn’t consider consumer disinterest in LTE on the iPhone 5 though; surveys have said previously that LTE may not make a difference to the majority of iPhone 5 consumers. Either way there is no doubt that those using Verizon’s robust LTE network will see plenty of high-speed wireless coverage.