LG BL40 hits FCC with US 3G seemingly disabled, ready for Telus?

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 17th 2009 at 3:40AM

Good news and bad news for US netizens waiting to hear more from LG's sexy new BL40. First, it just passed through the FCC thus confirming the model number on this oddball Black Label-series handset with what appears to be a 21:9 aspect ratio. And the fact that it's now FCC tested is also indicative that we're nearing launch with 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, FM transmitter, and 1000mAh Li-Ion battery confirmed within. Unfortunately, testing was limited to GSM 850/1900 and the device is repeatedly referred to as a GSM/EDGE phone -- in other words, no 3G. However, while most of the documents are withheld from public viewing at the request of LG, this particularly revealing exchange with the test lab was not:

Test lab: "While the licensed transmitter's Operational Description, for the most part, lists only non- U.S. bands for WCDMA, p.7/12 states that 'this design guideline shows UMTS 2100, UMTS1900 and UMTS850 applications.' Please clarify."

LG: "The main chipset supports GSM850/GSM1900/UMTS850/UMTS1900 but BL40 supports GSM850 & GSM1900."

Of course, UMTS850/1900 are the standard 3G bands used by AT&T in North America which makes this all the more perplexing. See the relevant screen-grab after the break.

Update: It just occurred to us what might be happening. Those 3G bands will be enabled when the LG BL40 launches on Telus' new HSPA network in Canada as its first GSM device. Hey, it's just a hunch but it certainly makes sense.