Re: Does the fault only lie with Apple?
From what I can tell of Qualcomm's offerings, it seems likely that LTE-B is supported in the chips the last couple iPhone generations have in them. It would need to be supported on the software side by Apple, and if there are extra royalties for it (which is likely) then Apple would have to pay for it. Why would they want to pay for something that no one is using, and no one is demanding?
Apple has never been aggressive in supporting new wireless standards, the only times they are aggressive in supporting new standards (i.e. Bluetooth LE) is when they are making use of it directly. If it isn't something they are using (they have no need for the "operators broadcasting software updates" feature) then why should they spend money on licensing and development to enable a feature no one wants right now aside from an industry association trying to drum up licensing revenue for its membership?
While I can see some uses for LTE-B especially when cars start becoming 'connected', there is still a lot of "solution looking for a problem" around its use cases. Where is the groundswell of people itching to watch live TV and sit through tons of commercials on a phone?