A new report from CNet today is suggesting that Sprint and T-Mobile’s cell networks may soon add the iPhone to their list of available devices. The report comes from an industry analyst weighing in on the matter.
According to a research note from Piper Jaffray analyst Chris Larsen, while the next iPhone’s features and specs are still up for debate, the most noteworthy change to the iPhone could be that it will run on many more networks, specifically Sprint and T-Mobile in the US.
Larsen notes that including all four major US cellular networks in the next iPhone’s launch could increase Apple’s US market for the iPhone by up to 30 percent, and greatly assisting in Apple’s ongoing battle against Android.
Larsen also reaffirms prior rumors that the next iPhone will be a universal “world phone” capable of running on both GSM and CDMA networks, and notes that there are a few technical challenges involved with supporting Sprint and Verizon.
Interestingly, the Verizon iPhone 4 already contains a chip that is capable of supporting both Sprint and Verizon’s CDMA networks, as well as T-Mobile and AT&T’s GSM-based networks – the only remaining challenge is supporting the full range of wireless frequencies used by each carrier.