iPad 3 With 4G LTE Coming From Verizon, AT&T But Not Sprint

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With just a couple of weeks to go until the iPad 3 gets official, we’re not surprised to see more and more iPad-related rumors hit the web. Today we’re focusing on a special report that reveals both Verizon and AT&T will sell 4G LTE-ready iPad 3 tablets in the very near future.

Sprint will certainly be the main loser at this point, since its LTE infrastructure is yet to be deployed, therefore any iPads the carrier will sell will lack LTE support, at least for the time being. As for Verizon and AT&T, the two largest carriers in the U.S. by total subscribers but also by LTE footprint, they’re going to offer 4G support to future iPad 3 buyers. Considering the story originates from the Wall Street Journal, we’re definitely tempted to believe LTE is an almost confirmed feature of the next-gen tablet.

Sure, we saw a few days ago those leaked 4G LTE AT&T micro SIM cards that would be used by future iPhones and iPads, and we read plenty of similar reports in the previous days, but the WSJ adds even more credibility to the story:

Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. will sell a version of the coming iPad that runs on their newest fourth-generation wireless networks, according to people familiar with the matter, as the battle to cash in on big investments in mobile broadband heats up. […]

Whether other carriers will also sell the device couldn’t be learned. Sprint Nextel Corp., T-Mobile USA and Apple declined to comment.

Considering the power Apple has over carriers, it will certainly be interesting to see whether the company can dictate terms when it comes to future 4G LTE plans for the iPad 3. Apple surprised everyone two years ago when it announced that AT&T – at the time the only mobile operator to support the 3G iPad versions – will not require mandatory data contracts from iPad buyers. But will the same thing happen again this year, or will Verizon and AT&T choose to cash in on the popularity of the tablet, by imposing two-year data plans with subsidized LTE iPads?

Today’s report also seems to imply that the next-gen smartphone, the iPhone 5/6 that’s coming later this year, will sport similar 4G LTE capabilities, and by the time it launches we expect at least three carriers to offer LTE plans for the iPhone including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.

What about you, are you interested in an iPad 3 with LTE powers?