The next-generation iPhone will allegedly support a 42-megabit advanced 3G connection when it becomes available in Australia, a senior official at Telstra claims. Having also claimed to have seen the device itself, the anonymous official tells ChannelNews that the phone will "by Xmas" support a planned upgrade to the advanced HSPA+ wireless standard on Telstra's 3G network. This will help drive sales, as the connection will actually be faster than many fixed-line broadband services and potentially the fastest iPhone data service anywhere, the executive asserts.

Other sources allege that Telstra has already been testing 3G iPhones, and that its launch is likely to follow shortly after an expected unveiling at Apple's opening keynote for WWDC.

Officially, Telstra has said it would launch a 21Mbps version of HSPA+ across its coverage area in late 2008, with speeds doubling by 2009. The upgrade comes slightly in advance of a confirmed AT&T upgrade that will bring the 21Mbps upgrade (claimed by AT&T as 20Mbps) to Americans in 2009 using a similar if not identical implementation, suggesting that any HSPA+ capability in the iPhone would be international.

If accurate, however, the claim would suggest a second update to the 3G iPhone by late this year or else a surprise upgrade to the future handset's cellular chipset in advance of its June appearance. References in firmware and from industry sources have so far pointed only to a 7.2Mbps HSDPA chipset from Infineon that would lack support for HSPA+ connections as well as the interim HSPA standard.