The technical issues that prevented T-Mobile to offer the iPhone in the past could be resolved by the time the iPhone 5 is launched. In separate interviews, both T-Mobile’s CEO Philipp Humm and CTO Neville Ray suggested that the next chipset Apple will use will support AWS. They both acknowledge that whether they can reach a deal with Apple if and when this becomes a reality remains to be seen.
Speaking to AllThingsD, Humm said, “The key reason we didn’t have the iPhone in the past is we are on different band than globally the market was. That is something which will change over time. Chipsets are also evolving to be able to allow for more bands.”
In an interview with CNET, Ray essentially said the same thing: “The next chipset will support AWS. The challenge that existed in the past will go away.”
Should this come to be, it is likely that a few carriers here in Canada would also be interested. Mobilicity, Vidéotron and WIND Mobile all use AWS and, like T-Mobile, have so far been unable to offer the iPhone.
Read more: CNET and AllThingsD