T-Mobile will have 10 LTE devices and iPhone-compatible 4G network by 2014

T-Mobile will have 10 LTE devices and its 4G network will be compatible with a future T-Mo-branded iPhone by the end of 2013, chief technology officer Neville Ray said at the carrier’s Challenger Strategy conference call.

T-Mobile’s CTO said the carrier will cover 50 major markets with its upcoming LTE network and detailed plans about managing spectrum to best serve the needs of more intensive data networks.

“Our 4G network will be compatible with a broader range of devices, including the iPhone” Ray said. Now, this is a clear reference to a 4G iPhone, unless Ray considers the current HSPA+ compliant iPhone as 4G, something Apple has never done. It seems though that T-Mobile's CTO is referring to the roll-out of HSPA+ 3G and 4G services in the 1900MHz range, which the iPhone is compliant with. This is a huge $4 billion investment by the fourth-largest US mobile operator.

The big problem with the iPhone on T-Mobile is the awkward AWS bands that the carrier’s 3G runs on. The iPhone currently doesn’t support them and remains limited to slow EDGE data transfers.

Theoretically, T-Mobile’s LTE network will deliver up to 72Mbps, but we expect the realities to match those of the current LTE networks. That would mean download speeds of between 5Mbpas and 12Mbps.

source: SlashGear