AT&T said to have installed LTE equipment at Apple Stores [updated]

By on Aug 16, 2011 at 1:45 PM
mobile August 16, 2011

Following BGR’s exclusive report that showed carriers are currently in the process of testing a 4G LTE-enabled iPhone, a new report raises additional questions surrounding Apple and its plans for LTE. Engadget has received a photograph from an anonymous tipstethatr  reportedly shows LTE equipment that was recently installed at an unnamed Apple Store location. According to the report, the gear was installed by AT&T and it supports the 700MHz and AWS bands, which AT&T plans to use for 4G LTE if its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA is approved by regulators. No other information regarding the equipment was made available, though the report does go on to claim that Apple Stores in the region where this gear was installed are currently in the process of increasing their sales forces by 30%. Engadget says this increase is unrelated to the standard ramp-up in hires ahead of the holiday season each year, which occurs closer to the season.

UPDATE: Image removed at source’s request.

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  • Anonymous

    I call shenanigans.  There’s no flux capacitor in that photo.

    • delusion ftl

      It’s worse than that. This apple store probably has ATT cell equipment at it already for their hspa/gsm network and now they’ve added LTE equipment as a normal part of their planned LTE build-out.  It has nothing to do with Apple and/or an LTE iphone.

      • Anonymous

        i’m pretty sure at least in NYC that AT&T has cell boosters inside apple stores because apple stores are some of the exceedingly rare buildings in NYC (at least manhattan) where one can actually get (usable) 3G service;

      • Anonymous

        Well there is no way to know whether this is acually an Apple store.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LEJEYCGMWQYKTH56I732XBN5QY paul

        Or that it’s LTE equipment.

    • Anonymous

      Shenanigans as AT&T themselves said it’ll take 6 years to vacate AWS for LTE.

  • Anonymous

    Why wont AT&T fix their half baked 3G before jumping over to LTE? I really wish iPhone 5 is available on Sprint and other carriers. 

    • Anonymous

      you’ve just offended all half-baked 3G networks around the world;  AT&T’s 3G “network” in NYC is raw and no kind of baked, half or otherwise

      • Booboolala2000

        Try LTE. And then get back to us.

    • Anonymous

      It will be… as Chief tAmpon Officer, CtO , for Apple, I can now inform you that we at Apple plan to make the siixth iteration of our beloved tAmpon available to all carriers -
      True Story™®©

      PAPINYC, CtO (for Apple)

      • http://www.droiddoes.com/ Norm

        Sit on my iphOne dong

    • Anonymous

      Android has higher market share and more daily activations that make it better. you can kiss my ass. True story.

  • Roflmao

    Seems legit…. But why would you need LTE at an Apple store if there are no LTE Apple devices? It’d make sense if it was on Apple’s campus… but Apple Store? 

    • Anonymous

      maybe the iPhone 5 is going to be AT&T’s first LTE phone?

  • Walter0

    Common sense says that if Apple was going to start using LTE, they wouldn’t be just allowing AT&T (The smallest 4G network) install them, Verizon would be installing these too, Bigger LTE, Larger Consumer base for LTE iphone. Let me know when they start installing those, till then, LTE-less iPhone. 

    • Anonymous

      or, Verizon has their infrastructure up, and has no need to put stuff _in_ stores.  ATT has no LTE, so it puts it close to/in the store to give a comparable picture (‘see  Here is LTE running on your iPhone to ATT and here it is on Verizon’)

      And if i were ATT I certainly don’t want VZN to be the only LTE in the store (via the normal VZN network.  You can be sure that LTE will be more expensive (read more over the cap data plans) so ATT doesn’t want to lose customers.

      Apple gets a win in that having LTE in the store makes their phones/pads look great (‘See, this  iPad 4 just downloaded the entire HD TV show in 23 seconds, at 25mb/s), and T gets to protect it’s high value customer base.  VZN, well, they don’t lose anything, as they already are in the ethers in most locales.

      So, in summary, VZN is already there.  ATT needs to start somewhere, and will start in the backcloset.  Apple is guaranteed LTE bandwidth in the store to make the sale.

      Makes sense.

      Yet, I don’t think Apple will push LTE phones out this year, unless something new LTE chip gets announced in the next week with a ‘anonymous buyer’ owning the entire supply chain of chips coming out of their factory.

  • http://twitter.com/EatinBeaver Wood Yee

    Did Jonathan send this fake picture to engadget in an attempt to legitimize his made up post yesterday about the LTE iPhone in carrier testing? Duh! Winning!

  • Anonymous

    That looks like a bomb; okay, iBombâ„¢

  • Booboolala2000

    Don’t leave the store and you will have lte. Lol. At& T still working as if in the eighties

  • Martinibuilt42

    Phone Scoop reported that AT&T are rolling out their first 4G devices this month, and just like Verizon they are USB modem for your lap top. The article mentions that the “devices will include a slot for microSD cards, support for GPS, and support for Apple computers at launch.”
    So that would give one reason for the Apple Store getting 4G.

  • http://twitter.com/ricklman Rick Mantooth

    “anonymous tipstethatr” ?!? … Focus. S l o w D o w n just a bit…

    #corrections

  • CMC

    SSSSSSSSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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