With so much speculation surrounding the new iPhone 4S, one of the biggest is when will the iPhone be capable of running on Verizon’s/AT&T’s upcoming LTE, or 4G, networks?

Recent rumors and speculation have pretty much ruled out the next iPhone being 4G capable. Why? Biggest reason is that neither Verizon or AT&T have really launched their 4G networks. While some cities in the US have been testing out Verizon’s LTE network, AT&T, as usual, is lagging behind a bit. Both systems are expected to fully launch sometime in 2012 which, oddly enough, is when the iPhone will supposedly be 4G capable.

So what, then, is all the hoopla about with this 4G/LTE network anyways? For those not in the know, the LTE network will, supposedly, bring a staggering increase in download/upload data speeds. Verizon’s LTE network, for example, will bring in around 10 Mbps down/5Mbps up speeds. Not bad at all however, “real world testing” of AT&T’s LTE network? Brought speeds of 28Mbps down/10Mbps up. This is definitely great news as slow data connections is probably the BIGGEST nuisance I come across on my devices. No more waiting forever while downloading an app or uploading a file to your DropBox account and no more lag in data transmissions. Assuming these data speeds are true then it’s very likely that FaceTime will be able to operate on 3G, or 4G, networks and would no longer require users to be on a WiFi network in order to make a FaceTime call.

Now, great as this is, the rollout of these speedy networks won’t happen until sometime in 2012 and that’s assuming the carriers don’t hit any snags. Also, for all you early iPhone adopters, the “promised” speeds of these networks, yes I’m looking at you AT&T, might not even be reality. I think most iPhone users have, in one way or another, been affected by AT&T’s laggy network. They had originally told people that there would be no problem with data loads since they’re network was “ready for the influx of iPhone users” on their network. Fast forward a couple years and, yes, in fact, they weren’t ready for all of us and were dreadfully slow in correcting these issues.

While I’m eagerly anticipating faster data speeds, I’m still quite hesitant on any promises from AT&T regarding their network especially considering their previous claims of their network stability. I guess we’ll see come 2012 how fast their LTE network is. My money is on them promoting their fastest test speeds however, in the real world, we’ll only see 1/4 of they promise.