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October 4 Announce Rumor + Sprint 4G October 7 Media Event = iPhone 4GS?

Opinion: People continue to speculate on whether the next iPhone will be an iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, or both. But Sprint’s trailing October 7th media event, said to be announcing a robust 4G LTE infrastructure, could indicate a 4G-ready iPhone 5 or 4GS.
With a fresh rumor that the iPhone 5 will be officially announced on October 4th, it gives us the opportunity to read the tea leaves and see if we divine any more clues about what to expect feature-wise from the next iPhone. The October 4th announcement date rumor fits nicely into Sprint’s October 7th media event, which has been confirmed for some time now. Sprint most likely has known the iPhone 5′s announcement date for a while now, since they would be careful to not tread on the date that Apple has in mind. Naturally, Sprint’s event to announce the iPhone 5 would have to come after Apple’s official announcement.
But there is another bit of speculation about the Sprint October 7th media event that might suggest that the iPhone 5 could come 4G-ready. On August 30th, CNET filed a report on how the Sprint media event could involve the announcement of a vast 4G LTE network infrastructure.  Lance Whitney reports that: “It turns out Sprint made mention of a planned future 4G event during a recent conference call, so we’re all the more confident that will be the topic of discussion on October 7.” We confirmed in our own communications with Sprint’s PR department that this media event is largely meant to cater to investors.


This is pure speculation on my part, but if Sprint is to announce a big 4G LTE investment alongside the iPhone 5 announcement, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the next iPhone will work on their exciting, new 4G network? Or, let me put it this way: wouldn’t it be awkward for Sprint to announce a new 4G network roll-out, and then announce a 3G iPhone 5 that will not work on it? Imagine it like this, “We’re so very excited to announce today that the new iPhone is coming to Sprint. In addition, we’re also happy to say that, by year’s end, Sprint’s U.S. 4G network will surpass that of AT&T and Verizon. Unfortunately, the iPhone 5 won’t run on it — it’s 3G.” I am aware that there have been numerous reports that the iPhone 5 won’t be 4G LTE — I’ve read most of them, and we’ve even reported on them here on the Blog. But the iPhone 5 rumor mill is not bereft of pro-iPhone 5 4G reports, either. We’ve posted articles about how 4G LTE testing has been reported for the iPhone 5. To me, if everything that we know about Sprint’s media event — that it will involve announcing the iPhone 5 and a new 4G LTE network — then I think that it is possible that the next iPhone could indeed be 4G.
You’ll recall that the iPhone 5 News Blog‘s exclusive source told us that the next iPhone would be the “4GS.” He has never offered insight into the features of the next iPhone — only that he is certain that it will retain the current form factor. But if Apple has clandestinely developed 4G capabilities for the next iPhone, it would make sense that they would want to brand it as the “iPhone 4G” or “iPhone 4GS” to take advantage of the increasing interest in 4G networks.
Post Script: Sprint’s 4G Partner In Trouble
As a post script to this discussion, there is a bit of troubling news for Sprint and their rumored 4G roll-out. Sprint’s partner in developing their 4G network is LightSquared. The partnership, as reported by CNET, sets a 15-year term wherein “LightSquared will pay Sprint $9 billion in cash and an estimated $4.5 billion in credits for LTE and satellite equipment. In exchange, Sprint will host LightSquared’s spectrum and provide network services, while LightSquared will have roaming access to Sprint’s 3G network..”
The problem is that LightSquared just crashed and burned. On top of that, there is now a Congressional ethics probe into whether or not the White House had improper dealings with the company, giving them access to low-interest government loans in charges of “crony capitalism.” Based on what I have read about the partnership between LightSquared and Sprint, it would seem to me that Sprint’s ability to launch into 4G is not contingent on LightSquared, and that their deal was merely a way to “rent” some of their 4G capabilities to the start-up wireless company. But there is no doubt that the fallout from LightSquared’s dissolution is a mess for Sprint.
It’s just never easy for those guys, is it?