The new iPad: Most connected device ever, or merely a marketing ruse?

At the special event on March 7, Phil Schiller said to the audience that the new iPad has the most wireless bands and network connectivity options of any device ever shipped. But is it really the most connected device ever made, or just a marketing ruse?

While it is true that banding is important to wireless connectivity, it is important to consider the practical usage of those bands. From a global perspective, the new iPad is just as universal as the iPhone 4S.

The new iPad supports full quad-band operation on 2G GSM, like nearly all smart devices shipped today. On HSPA networks, the new iPad supports networks on band I (2100MHz), band II (1900MHz), band V (850MHz), band VI (800MHz) and band VIII (900MHz). For HSPA networks, the new iPad supports single carrier HSPA+ (with a theoretical maximum speed of 21Mbps) and dual-carrier HSPA+ (with a maximum speed of 42Mbps). Unfortunately, the only HSPA network in the United States that supports dual-carrier HSPA+ is T-Mobile USA. While T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network is not yet iPad compatible, it will be very soon. AT&T only has single carrier Release 7 HSPA+ deployed, which supports a maximum theoretical speed of 21Mbps, but most parts of the network only support 7.2Mbps or 14.4Mbps. That means that the connectivity upgrade for HSPA networks is useless in the USA for now. Other countries (like Canada, the UK, and Australia) offer (or will offer this year) dual-carrier HSPA+, making this a truly valuable upgrade.

The new iPad’s LTE connectivity is entirely limited to North America, making this option completely useless for most of the world. The variant being distributed worldwide includes support for LTE on band class 17 (B and C block Lower 700MHz), and band class 4 (AWS, 1700/2100 MHz). While band class 17 is restricted to AT&T only, band class 4 is used by Telus, Bell, Rogers, and AT&T for LTE. And soon, T-Mobile USA will use it too.

A second LTE-enabled variant for the United States will be available for Verizon Wireless. This variant adds support for CDMA2000 networks on band class 0 (850MHz) and band class 1 (1900MHz) and replaces the LTE band support for LTE networks on band class 13 (C block Upper 700MHz) instead. A little-known secret of the new iPad for Verizon is that the SIM card actually enables connectivity for both CDMA and LTE, as well as GSM and HSPA. SIM cards from CDMA and GSM carriers around the world will work on this model. In Asia, CDMA network access can and usually is provisioned with SIM cards, so those will work on the new iPad for Verizon Wireless.

In summary, the new iPad for the global market does not change anything in terms of connectivity, but the version for Verizon Wireless adds critical support for CDMA networks that use SIM cards for authorizing network access as well as global roaming support on GSM/HSPA networks. In the grand scheme of things, the new iPad does not improve cellular network connectivity all that much.

The new iPad: Most connected device ever, or merely a marketing ruse?