LG Uplus, the third-largest mobile carrier in Korea, said Thursday that the door was wide open for Apple’s next iPhones and iPads as the mobile carrier now fully supported the Long Term Evolution service.

At a press meeting Wednesday aboard a Hangang River cruise, LG Uplus CEO Lee Sang-chul said “many leading phone makers from China and Japan are now asking LG Uplus to carry their handsets.” He added that the firm aims to earn recognition as the leading LTE provider through its “single” LTE for voice call and data services.

“I assume Apple may think the same way, and if it offers a proposal (for a business partnership) we will consider it seriously.” 

The meeting was held to commemorate the launch of full LTE services.

LG Uplus had been utilizing code division multiple access, or CDMA, widely known as 2G, for voice calls while other rivals had long switched to wideband CDMA, or 3G, which is compatible with Apple’s smart devices.

LG is still the only telecom operator among the three major companies, including SK Telecom and KT Corp., that does not carry Apple’s mobile devices.

The absence of the iPhone on a list of handsets for sale is often pointed out as a factor that holds back the growth of LG in the market.

“The technological glitches have been solved with the introduction of the single LTE service,” an official from LG Uplus said.

LG will likely provide a wide array of products, such as iPads and other products by foreign mobile makers, according to the firm.

Industry watchers said LG’s latest moves signaled its efforts to snatch the second spot from KT.

Both LG and KT have around 6 million subscribers, with the latter slightly outpacing LG.

Apple declined to comment on whether it had any plans to sign a contract with the mobile carrier, but said iPhones using LG’s LTE network were “feasible.”

Market watchers expect that if iPhones or iPads on the LG mobile network are realized, then its sister firm LG Display that supplies display panels to Apple could benefit from the synergy effects.

Regarding an upcoming bid for telecommunications bandwidths this month, in which LG is competing with its rivals, CEO Lee tried to dispel suspicions of collusion with market leader SK against KT, saying, “we (LG) never thought of playing foul.”

The state-led auction to sell frequency slots including 60 MHz and 80 MHz in a 1.8GHz bandwidth and a 2.6 GHz bandwidth, respectively, will be held late this month.

KT is eager to obtain the slot in the 1.8-GHz bandwidth since the frequency would enable the firm to aggregate it with a 20-MHz frequency the firm is currently using and save costs for additional network facilities needed.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)