The next-generation iPhone -- believed to be the iPhone 5S -- could support LTE Advanced, an anonymous official with SK Telecom tells the
Korea Times. SK is said to have approached Apple with the idea instead of the other way around, but the two parties are nevertheless said to be "in the middle of negotiations." The
Times suggests that Apple will probably use a Qualcomm chip to support the standard.
In supported areas, LTE Advanced could potentially double the download speeds available on the iPhone. The technology works by spreading a single download over multiple radio channels. Only South Korea currently has a significant LTE Advanced network, but American carriers are expected to start upgrading later this year.
Reports have indicated that one or more new iPhones will start shipping in September. The featureset of the iPhone 5S has rarely been mentioned, but it's believed that it will get a faster A7 processor, and possibly some form of fingerprint recognition. The latter could be paired with NFC to enable secure iPhone-based payments at retail.