AT&T and Apple apparently are working to place a 4G label on the newly released iPhone 4S. Although at first sight AT&T intention to “re-brand” the iPhone 4S seems exaggerated, the latest version of Apple’s Smartphone, which tops out at 14.4Mbps, up from the iPhone 4 7.2Mbps, has HSPA+ communication capabilities, according to Thisismynext.com.
iPhone 4S despite criticism enjoyed a huge success in terms of pre-orders, and might work more efficient on AT&T network, better than competitors Verizon and Sprint.
How justified is the proposal? AT&T’s GSM network infrastructure is different from the competition, in that it can sustain HSPA+, feature that the iPhone has.
Theoretically speaking, the iPhone would be able to get a download speed of 14.4 Mbps. In practice, we know that the promoted download speed hardly ever reach the maximum announced by carriers in advertising campaigns. Given the success that iPhone 4S has, and also the fact that people expected an iPhone 4G, it is very understandable why AT&T wants to take advantage.
However, AT&T confirms that the companies are indeed “working together” on it, emphasizing that “customers will get 4G download speeds from day one” regardless.