KUWAIT: Users of Apple's newest smart phone in Kuwait might not be able to benefit from all of its features due to a delay in operating the 4G network in the country. This network is already available in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
According to a report published yesterday, accessing the 4G network through iPhone 5 or any other smart phone that supports this service in Kuwait may face difficulties, depending on the frequencies for data transfer that the Ministry of Communications eventually adopts. Given the different frequencies in countries where the 4G network is operational, Apple released three different versions of iPhone 5, each compatible with a certain frequency that the other devices are incompatible with.
One version with the serial number A1428 works on the GSM system, and has been imported by some electronic companies in Kuwait from the United States and Canada. The second version carries the serial number A1429 and works on the CDMA system that is used only in the United States and Japan.
The third version also carries the serial number A1429 but works on the GSM system, and is available in Kuwait. According to unidentified sources quoted in Al-Rai's report, some local companies imported iPhone 5 devices without paying attention to the serial numbers, which led to two versions of the phone being available in the local market, one of which might turn out to be incompatible with the frequencies that the Ministry of Commerce will eventually adopt to operate the 4G network. In order to avoid this problem, the sources indicated that the ministry may need to adopt both frequencies used by two different versions.
Other GCC states succeeding in avoiding this problem by launching the 4G network before the phone's release, and thus only the compatible version was shipped to their respective markets.
© Kuwait Times 2012
