Despite reports to the contrary, Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) says it is not the reason a Long Term Evolution (LTE) version of the Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone isn't on retail shelves yet.

Apple's ability to source LTE chipsets with 3G support is not an issue, according to Rob Chandhok, senior vice president of software strategy for Qualcomm CDMA technologies. How companies roll out LTE products is dependent on how they want the user experience, he said.

"You'd have to ask Apple about [sourcing issues], but we have technology available that delivers LTE today," Chandhok added.

The consensus has been that Apple won't launch an LTE-capable iPhone until late this year or early next as it waits on lower-power consuming chipsets for the device, something Apple has even admitted. But more recently, several reports have pointed to Qualcomm, specifically, as slowing things down. (See Apple iPhone 5: Falling for 4G?)

Industry sources told DigiTimes that Apple wanted to order Qualcomm's LTE chip for the next iPhone, but the chip giant wasn't ready to meet Apple's production needs.

Interest in speeding up the LTE iPhone is especially high in China where Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD) is currently being deployed. (See iPhone for LTE TDD?)

Qualcomm did not confirm its relationship with Apple, but there are other issues at work with the LTE iPhone, including relative scarcity of LTE networks and a need to conserve battery life.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile