The Apple iPhone 5 went on sale with much fan fair. The best thing that came with it is the high speed 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution). LTE will allow smartphones to stream high-definition movies; enable video chat, and store files and photos on clouds. The 4G can handle twice the size of 3G networks, smartphones, tablets, video streaming, cloud computing services and host of other functions. It is estimated that smartphones alone will increase mobile data by eightfold by 2016.
The Apple iPhone 5 expect to sell 50 million units by the end of the year. Major providers of 4G, including AT&T and Verizon Wireless are prepared to handle the glut of demand for service from smartphones and other devices such as iPads. The industry has spent over $6.75 billion securing spectrum rights to provide 4G services to its customers.
The 4G carriers need to navigate carefully. If they charge too much for the service, customers may stay with current 3G services or look for free Wi-Fi available at many coffee shops. If the price is too low, it may overwhelm the system. Some are already offering shared data options as a protection against accidental overage charges. Sprint and T-Mobile offer unlimited data plans.