CNET on Wednesday reported that Verizon is looking to make 4G LTE compatibility a requirement on all smartphones released in the future. Verizon’s 4G LTE provides faster data speeds and would be a major step up from 2G and 3G speeds currently operating on many smartphones.

This report has led to speculations about Apple releasing a 4G LTE compatible iPhone 5 in order to comply with Verizon’s network standards. Verizon’s proposal of “a hard requirement” to make all phones 4G LTE does have some exceptions, with the company noting that their Push to Talk network will remain operating on 3G speeds until further notice.

From now on, nearly every smartphone, wireless hot spot, tablet, and Netbook that Verizon offers will come with LTE guns a-blazing. Yes, Virginia, that includes Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices, too.

There will be the occasional exception, however. For instance, phones on Verizon’s push-to-talk network are 3G-only for now, and will remain that way until further notice.

Verizon’s clear, unyielding stance on 4G–“a hard requirement,” according to Verizon–may partially explain why it has picked up only one Windows Phone so far.

The report also goes on to mention that Verizon is leading the market with deployment of 4G LTE, with over 200 million people in 190 markets. Verizon plans to complete its LTE roll out by late next year, and is now pushing its slow roll-out by forcing users to 4G LTE enabled smartphones. AT&T has also announced plans for a 4G LTE network but has not set any specific goals for smartphone plans and accessibility’s with the network.

By late 2013, 4G LTE may become the standard on many US carriers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, making 3G the current 2G. As smartphones demand more speed and reliability, 4G LTE is definitely the next big step in cellular data.

{via MacRumors}

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