Definition: LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a wireless broadbandtechnology designed to support roaming Internet access via cell phones and handheld devices. Because LTE offers significant improvements over older cellular communication standards, some refer to it as a 4G (fourth generation) technology along with WiMax.
With its architecture based on Internet Protocol (IP) unlike many other cellular Internet protocols, Long Term Evolution supports browsing Web sites, VoIP and other IP-based services well. LTE can theoretically support downloads at 300Megabits per second (Mbps) or more based on experimental trials. However, the actual network bandwidth available to an individual LTE subscriber sharing the service provider's network with other customers is significantly less.
Long Term Evolution service is only available in limited geographic areas, but telecommunications providers have been actively expanding their LTE services.
Not so long ago mobile networks were relying purely on 3G/UMTS technology, which is now more than 10 years old and struggling to cope with the needs of today's data hungry users.
4G/LTE (Fourth Generation / Long Term Evolution) is the next stage in mobile network development and provides users with much faster data speeds than 3G is able to.
EE has been testing the waters with 4G since October 2012, and until late 2013 it had the market to itself in the UK.
While EE was able to leverage some of its existing spectrum in the 1800MHz band, the other networks had to wait till a spectrum auction held by Ofcom in February 2013 before they could even start preparing for a 4G launch.
However both O2 and Vodafone launched 4G networks of their own in August 2013, while Three began rolling out 4G in December, so for the last year or so EE has finally started to see some competition.
- What's the best 4G handset?
So here's what you need to know if you're thinking of getting your hands on one of those fancy-Dan superfast 4G handsets everyone keeps going on about these days.
What are the differences between 4G frequency bands?
4G can be a confusing beast, particularly when there are three different frequency bands in use in the UK alone.
The 2.6GHz band is one of the two frequencies that were auctioned off by Ofcom in February 2013. It has a greater data capacity than the other two bands so it can deal with loads of people connecting at once, but it doesn't fare so well over long distances, making it ideal for cities and other compact, densely populated areas but not so good for rural locations.
The 800MHz band is the other spectrum that was sold off in February 2013. It was used to provide analogue terrestrial TV, but has been freed up since the big Digital switchover.
While it doesn't provide the same data capacity as the 2.6GHz band, the 800MHz frequency can easily travel over long distances and will be used to provide broadband speeds to rural areas where telephone exchanges can't reach.
Being low frequency it's also better at penetrating walls than the 2.6GHz or 1800MHz bands, so it will provide an improved signal when indoors.
The 1800MHz band is used by EE and Three, as while EE did own the lot of it the numerical network purchased a chunk of it from its rival.
However, as part of the deal to get the spectrum off the brand formed from the merger of T-Mobile and Orange, Three had to agree not to launch 4G on the spectrum before October 2013, which is the main reason for why it was the last to launch.
The 1800MHz band strikes a balance between coverage and capacity (falling between the extremes of the 2.6GHz and 800MHz bands) which makes it a good 'middle-ground' for getting 4G around the country.
Ofcom's 4G spectrum auction
The 4G spectrum auction held by Ofcom at the beginning of the 2013 saw winning bids from O2 (Telefónica UK), Vodafone, Three (Hutchison Whampoa) and of course EE. Interestingly BT also came away with a piece of the pie through its subsidiary Niche Spectrum Ventures.
Remember, more MHz means a better connection, so the more 'x GHz' of spectrum, the more widespread and robust a network can be.
Vodafone spent the most at the auction- a whopping £790,761,000 and came away with 2 x 10MHz of 800MHz spectrum, 1 x 20MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum and a further 1 x 25MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum.
EE spent £588,876,000 and secured 2 x 5MHz of 800MHz spectrum and 2 x 35MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum, which is less spectrum overall than Vodafone has.
Don't forget that EE can also call upon the 1800MHz spectrum that it's been using since before the other networks even launched a 4G service though.
O2 spent £550,000,000 on 2 x 10MHz of 800MHz spectrum. The company completely neglected the 2.6GHz band which may hurt its inner city performance, but with its extensive network of Wi-Fi hotspots in cities the bubbly brand thinks it will be OK without it.
Three spent £225,000,000 on 2 x 5MHz of 800MHz spectrum. Like O2, the company passed on the 2.6GHz band, however Three also has access to some 1800MHz spectrum, as noted above.
BT was something of a surprise bidder and secured 2 x 15MHz of 2.6GHz and 1 x 20MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum. While it was unclear what BT planned to use it on at the time it's now emerged that it will be getting back into the mobile game, albeit primarily as an MVNO through EE, but with a bit of its own spectrum to fall back on, as well as possibly using the spectrum to boost its existing services.
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So, what is LTE? To most, it is a faster network technology. To network operators around the world, it is a way to simplify their infrastructures to reduce costs while improving the quality of their offerings to subscribers. Advertisements by network operators declare it as the “most advanced” network technology. In the end, it is Long Term Evolution of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).
But that doesn’t tell us what LTE actually is. LTE is what the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project, the group responsible for standardizing and improving UMTS) designates as their next step. UMTS is the group of standards that define 3G for GSM networks across the world, including AT&T and T-Mobile’s 3G networks. This does not mean a thing to CDMA2000 subscribers, since CDMA2000 is not maintained by the 3GPP. For CDMA2000 subscribers, LTE is the replacement of mediocre CDMA2000 networks offered by Verizon Wireless, Sprint, au by KDDI, and others with a superior cellular telecommunications system offering flexibility and power to the network operator and the subscriber.
LTE is a very good, easily deployable network technology, offering high speeds and low latencies over long distances. For example, the three LTE networks in New York City were rated well. Verizon’s LTE service was rated with an average download speed of 7.67Mbps and an average upload speed of 3.76Mbps. AT&T’s LTE service was rated with an average download speed of 19.21Mbps and an average upload speed of 10.09Mbps. Sprint’s LTE service was rated with an average download speed of 12.35Mbps and an average upload speed of 4.24Mbps. Verizon’s 3G service was rated with an average download speed of 0.47Mbps and an average upload speed of 0.15Mbps. Sprint’s 3G was similarly bad. Similar ratings followed in other cities as well.
In this article, we will discuss what configurations LTE can be deployed in, why LTE is easily deployable, how LTE works as a radio technology, what types of LTE exist, how LTE affects battery life, what network operators want LTE to do, and the future of 4G as a whole. The most technical parts of the article are LTE can be deployed in, why LTE is easily deployable, how LTE works as a radio technology, and what types of LTE exist. For those who don’t want that information, you can skip to how LTE affects battery life and still get the gist of what we’re saying. But to get the complete picture, reading the whole article is advised.
Table of contents
- Introduction (this page)
- How LTE is configured for deployment
- Why LTE is easier to deploy than its predecessors
- How LTE actually works
- Why LTE (seems) to chew through batteries
- Why LTE is considered the panacea of the mobile space
- The messy future of 4G
Next page: How LTE is configured for deploymen
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