10 things you should know about LTE - Tech | 5G, SDN/NFV & Edge Compute

Breaking

Friday, October 16, 2009

10 things you should know about LTE


LTE has become the buzz word in the next generation data networks. There has been lots of talks about how LTE can improve the speed of mobile broadband networks, with a magic wand. There are several vendors in this market space trying to divide the pie. Do you want to learn more about LTE? This FAQ should help you understand the basics of LTE. You can treat this as LTE 101s.


1) What does LTE stand for?


LTE stands for Long Term Evolution


2) What is LTE?


LTE is a mobile broadband technology promising higher data transfer rates. It defines a new radio access technology that is optimized for IP-based traffic. 


It has enhancements to the UMTS 3G technology to provide significantly faster data transfer rates. 


3) Which "radio" technologies does LTE use?


LTE will utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for downlink and Single Carrier - Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) for uplink. SC-FDMA uses a constant power which enables high RF power amplifier efficiency in the mobile handset devices. This significantly lowers the power consumed from your handset's battery, thereby letting you to browse Internet for a longer time :)


4) How much speed (i.e., data transfer rates) can I get with LTE ?


LTE offers download speeds of at least 100 Mbps, and upload speed of at least 50 Mbit/s


5) Is LTE, the 4G technology?


Though LTE is "marketed" as 4G, LTE in its current form, is not the REAL 4G technology. A simple reason being the 4G technology requires 1Gbps data download speed and LTE cannot provide it today.
(Also, read Comparison of download speeds - 2G, 3G, LTE & 4G)


6) What is LTE-A?


LTE-A stands for Long Term Evolution Advanced. It is developed with the objective of meeting 4G requirements.


7) What is the 3GPP specification that describes LTE?


3GPP Release 8


8) Who are some of the LTE network equipment vendors?


All major telecom equipment providers such as Ericsson, AlcaLu, Motorola, Nokia have LTE network equipment


9) What are some advantages to end users provided by LTE?


  • Faster data downloads/uploads
  • Improved response for applications and hence, improved end-user experience


10) What are some advantages to network operators, provided by LTE?


LTE adoption gives network operators the following benefits:
  • High network throughput
  • Low latency
  • Plug and Play architecture
  • Low operating costs 
  • All-IP, packet based network
  • Simplified upgrade path from 3G networks

7 comments:

  1. Dear Saro,
    Good day
    i was searching about LTE in the web for the past 6 hrs and i came across your blog.
    the faq on lte and the comparison with wimax has improved my knowledge and cleared certain questions i had on lte.

    i am a newcomer to the telecom industry (i am basically from chennai and right now working as a financial analyst with a leading mobile operator in saudiarabia).

    i will really appreciate your assistance if you can clarify some of my questions on lte/wimax.

    1. Is LTE is an extension of Wimax or an extension of 3g network?
    2. my company is replacing our existing samsung wave 1 with lte and adding additional lte card on wave 2 base stations. they are not doing this addition in the 3g sites but only in the sites where they have wimax.

    is it possible for you to come for a small chat in google talk or on yahoo? i want to know the basics of the telecom but i find it difficult to understand the concepts.
    pls. confirm.
    thanks

    regards
    khaleel

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Khaleel,

    Here is the answer to your questions.

    1. LTE is more of an extension to the 3G vertical, than the WiMax. LTE is considered more as 3.5G/4G.

    2) In order to do WiMax or LTE, the user devices (mobile phones or laptops) should support the technology. Many devices may have 3G & LTE support because they belong to the same vertical. Your company may be trying to provide service to 3G/LTE users & WiMax users in those areas.

    You can reach out to me at svelrajan at gmail dot com

    - Saro

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi
    i am studying about diameter protocol in LTE.can u help me to know which part of diameter (client or proxy) is implemented in LTE MME

    ReplyDelete
  4. hi saro..this is ruma from surat,gujrat...and i take my seminar topic as LTE so can u give me guidelines that which topics and things i shoud considered in my ppt? and how can i represent across my audience and judges?

    ReplyDelete
  5. hi saro..this is ruma from surat,gujrat.. and i have take my seminar topic as LTE? so can u tell me plz which topic i shoud consider in my presentation? and how should i represent?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Ruma,

    You can consider covering these topics.

    http://tech.ginkos.in/2009/10/are-you-looking-for-long-term-evolution.html

    http://tech.ginkos.in/2009/10/lte-network-architecture-and-functional.html

    - Saro

    ReplyDelete