Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will start upgrading its iPhone models in India in December to make them compatible with 5G networks, the company said on Wednesday, as Indian authorities pressed mobile phone manufacturers to adopt the high-speed network.
The company said it would push software upgrades to recent models, including the iPhone 14, 13, 12 and iPhone SE, which, industry sources say, do not support the network currently.
“We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed,” Apple said in a statement.
“5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services on Oct. 1 amid much fanfare, with leading telecom operator Reliance Jio saying it would make the service available in four cities and rival Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) in eight.
Top bureaucrats from India’s telecoms and IT departments will chair a meeting on Wednesday for early 5G adoption, asking executives from Apple, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi, as well as domestic telecom operators Reliance, Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS) to be present, according to a government document seen by Reuters.