"I actually like AT&T," said Wainchus, who had been in line for two hours before the Fifth Avenue store opened. "A lot of people have problems with it, but I love it."

Across the Atlantic, crowds waiting outside the Apple Store on Regent Street in London were a bit more mixed about the iPhone 5's faster networking capabilities. There are about ten countries in Europe where iPhone 5 buyers will be able to take advantage of LTE. In the U.K. a commercial LTE network will soon be launched by operator EE, a joint venture between T-Mobile and Orange.

Some customers outside the London Apple Store couldn't wait for the speed boost. "Faster is always better. My broadband at home is only 7Mbps and this should be a least three times as fast," said Aamir Karmali.

EE is the only U.K. operator that will offer LTE, and others buyers don't think it's worth switching operators for faster speeds.

"I am on O2, and I am not swapping just to get 4G ... I don't need it, O2's network is fast enough when you are actually connected to the network," said Matthew Taylor.