27.10.2015

In a previous article, we already examined third-generation standards under the general title . However, communication of the fourth generation, 4G, is spreading rapidly. About the main standard in 4G at the moment is LTE. Strictly speaking, LTE was not the first fourth-generation standard; the first widespread was the WiMAX standard. The first time Yota worked in it, and some operators still use WiMAX. The maximum WiMAX speed is 40 Mb / s, however, the real indicators are in the range from 10 to 20 Mb / s.

But back to LTE. It is he who is now the most common in the world as a whole and in Russia in particular. But what is 4G LTE?? LTE (from English Long term evolution) is a wireless high-speed data standard for mobile devices. It is based on all the same GSM / UMTS protocols, but the theoretical and real data transfer speeds in LTE networks are much higher, sometimes even superior to wired connections!

LTE FDD and LTE TDD: what are the differences?

The LTE standard is of two types, the differences between which are quite significant. Fdd   - Frequency Division Duplex (frequency separation of the incoming and outgoing channel)
TDD - Time Division Duplex (time separation of the incoming and outgoing channel). Roughly speaking, FDD is parallel LTE, and TDD is serial LTE. For example, with a channel width of 20 MHz in FDD LTE, part of the range (15 MHz) is given for download (download), and part (5 MHz) for upload (upload). Thus, the channels do not overlap in frequency, which allows you to work simultaneously and stably for loading and unloading data. In TDD LTE, the same 20 MHz channel is completely given up both for downloading and for unloading, and the data is transmitted to one or the other side in turn, with the priority still having the download. In general, FDD LTE is preferable because It is faster and more stable.

LTE frequencies

LTE networks (FDD and TDD) operate at different frequencies in different countries. In many countries, several frequency ranges are operated at once. It is worth noting that not all equipment can work on different "bands", i.e. frequency ranges. FDD ranges are numbered from 1 to 31, TDD ranges from 33 to 44. There are several additional standards that have not yet been assigned numbers. Specifications for frequency bands are called bands (BANDs). In Russia and Europe, band 7, band 20, band 3 and band 38 are mainly used.

Here is a list of the frequency ranges of 4G LTE networks in Russia of the Big Five operators. There are also 4G LTE regional networks of local operators operating in other frequency ranges, however, consideration of this article is not necessary within the framework of this article.

The most important criterion that is of particular interest to subscribers, i.e. 4G LTE network users, is the data transfer rate. And the speed primarily depends on the width of the frequency range of a particular operator, as well as the type of duplex used on the network. For example, for a 10 MHz channel, the 4G LTE speed will be 75 Mbps. It is with such a nominal speed that LTE FDD (band 7) networks of Tele2, MTS and. And what about the megaphone? And Megaphone can afford more. Because several years ago there was a merger, or rather absorption by Megafon of Iota, now Megafon also has licenses for Yota frequencies, respectively, the maximum channel width can reach 40 MHz in the frequency range of 2600 MHz (band 7), which in theory gives as much as 300 Mb / s! But basically, the Megafon 4G network operates in the 15-20 MHz channel, which gives a download speed of 100-150 Mbit / s. After all, for Yota, something must be left.

LTE-Advanced, or 4G +

The next step in the development of 4G LTE networks is the LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) standard. Some operators call this technology 4G + for marketing purposes, but this is fundamentally incorrect. Those. in fact, it is LTE-Advanced that is the real 4G. LTE-A network data rates are significantly higher than regular LTE. The main feature of LTE-Advanced is the aggregation of frequency bands. A subscriber device with LTE-A support summarizes the data transmission channels in different frequency ranges available to the operator. For example, combining several frequency ranges in the 2600 MHz band receives a 40 MHz channel, which gives an LTE-Advanced network speed of 300 Mbps. But this is far from the limit. If you add another 20 MHz here from the 1800 MHz band, you get a 60 MHz channel (band 7 + band 3), which is 450 Mbps! In other cases, these are theoretical or bench speeds. In reality, of course, they are much smaller, but nevertheless, the LTE-Advanced wireless technology is quite close to wired speeds.

It is worth noting that all operators can aggregate different channels in different frequency ranges with the appropriate licenses and network infrastructure. The main task is to expand the frequency range. The wider it is, the higher the maximum speed, i.e. network bandwidth. But of course there should be subscriber equipment that supports LTE-Advanced.

4G LTE Prospects

Despite the fact that the 4G LTE standard appeared a few years ago, in many regions of our country there are still not even 3G networks. So there is still room to grow. The networks of the 5th generation (5G) are already being tested in the world, but in real conditions, 4G LTE networks will dominate for a long time, since the operators are actively developing them.

In many cases, 4G Internet is not only an alternative to a wired connection, but also a non-alternative only option, including economically viable. Remote objects, the laying of a wire to which is associated with certain difficulties or risks, and sometimes even completely impossible, also need to be connected. It is often possible to connect 4G Internet even where there is no LTE network coverage. For this, special that capture and amplify the 4G LTE signal. To choose the right antenna, you need to know which network of the operator you need to catch, at what frequency it works, and also in which duplex mode (FDD or TDD). Our   they will determine the type of signal, measure its parameters, select the appropriate equipment to ensure fast and stable Internet access through the 4G LTE network.

  LTE FDD and LTE TDD

The LTE standard is of two types, the differences between which are quite significant. Fdd - FrequencyDivisionDuplex   (frequency separation of the incoming and outgoing channel) TDD - TimeDivisionDuplex (time spacing of the incoming and outgoing channel). Roughly speaking, FDD is parallel LTE, and TDD is serial LTE. For example, with a channel width of 20 MHz in FDD LTE, part of the range (15 MHz) is given for download (download), and part (5 MHz) for upload (upload). Thus, the channels do not overlap in frequency, which allows you to work simultaneously and stably for loading and unloading data. In TDD LTE, the same 20 MHz channel is completely given up both for downloading and for uploading, and the data is transferred to one or the other side in turn, while loading still has priority. In general, FDD LTE is preferable, because It is faster and more stable.

  Frequency ranges LTE, Band

LTE networks (FDD and TDD) operate at different frequencies in different countries. In many countries, several frequency ranges are operated at once. It is worth noting that not all equipment can work on different "bands", i.e. frequency ranges. FDD ranges are numbered from 1 to 31, TDD ranges from 33 to 44. There are several additional standards that have not yet been assigned numbers. Specifications for frequency bands are called bands (BANDs). In Russia and Europe, band 7, band 20, band 3 and band 38 are mainly used.

In Russia, four frequency ranges are currently used for 4th generation networks:

As an example, I will give the frequency distribution among the main Russian operators in the LTE 2600 (Band 7) band:

As you can see from this scheme, Beeline only got 10 MHz. Rostelecom also got only 10 MHz. MTS - 35 MHz in the Moscow region and 10 MHz throughout the country. But Megaphone and Yota (this is the same holding) got as much as 65 MHz for two in the Moscow region and 40 MHz throughout Russia!

Through Yota, only Megafon in 4G standard virtually works in Moscow, in other regions - Megafon and MTS. In the TDD range, television (Cosmos-TV, etc.) will operate throughout Russia except Moscow.

For the full frequency distribution of mobile operators in Russia, see.

Frequency distribution among operators across Russian regions can be found.

For those who find it difficult to remember the numbers of band bands or do not have the right reference at hand, I recommend the small RFrequence android application, a screenshot of which is given below.

  LTE Categories

Subscriber devices are classified into categories. The most common today are devices of the 4th category CAT4. This means that the maximum achievable speed of the mobile Internet for reception (downlink or DL) can be 150 Mbps, for transmission (uplink or UL) - 50 Mbps. It is important to note that this is the maximum achievable speed in ideal conditions - the main of which are you not far from the tower, there are no more subscribers in the cell, optical transport has been brought to the base station, etc.

The most common categories of subscriber devices are shown in the table.

The table requires some explanation. Mentioned here are “carrier aggregation” and “additional technologies”. I will try to explain what it is.

  Frequency aggregation

The word “aggregation” in this case is understood as a union, i.e. frequency aggregation is a combination of frequencies. What this means - I will try to explain below.

It is known that the transmission reception rate depends on the transmission channel width. As we saw from the table in the previous section, the channel width for loading, for example, MTS is 10 MHz in the rangeBand 7 (except Moscow), also 10 MHz for return. To increase the download speed, the operator redistributes the frequencies bought by him in the ratio of 15 MHz to download and 5 MHz to return. Other providers do the same.

Once, one of the developers came up with a bright idea - what if we transmit a signal not at one carrier frequency, but at several at the same time. Thereby, the transmit / receive channel is expanded and the speed will theoretically increase significantly. And if you still transmit each carrier according to the schemeMimo   2x2, then we get an additional gain in speed. Such a transmission / reception scheme is called “frequency aggregation.” It is this scheme that the Internet uses 4G + or LTE - Advanced (LTE - A).

The table indicates that forCat .9, it is necessary for the transmitter and receiver to be able to transmit and receive a signal at three carrier frequencies (in three bands) at the same time, the width of each channel should be at least 20 MHz. ForCat .12 it is additionally necessary that the antenna devices are wiredMimo 4x4, i.e. in fact, 4 antennas are needed on the receiving and transmitting sides.

Mysterious Characters 256QAM mean a certain type of modulation of the signal, allowing more densely packed information. Those who wish to familiarize themselves with this topic in more detail can begin familiarization with the material inarticle   on Wikipedia and with local links.

  Receiver categorization

The frequency aggregation scheme is being actively developed by Russian providers, many agreements have been concluded on the mutual use of frequency ranges, and the antenna facilities of base stations are being reconstructed.

However, there is one problem - on the receiving side, the subscriber must be able to receive a signal at several carrier frequencies simultaneously. Not all smartphones, tablets and modems support frequency aggregation and, therefore, cannot work in 4G +.

Since 2016, the documentation for smartphones indicates frequency ranges (bands) and categoryLTE that they know how to work in. For example, for a smartphone release2017, HuaweiP 10Plus, among other parameters, is indicated:

In addition, this smartphone has a built-in MIMO 4x 4 antenna and a corresponding modem, which allows you to process signals at once on two carrier frequencies.

If your smartphone supports frequency aggregation, then the “settings” -\u003e “mobile network” tab will look something like this:

If so, then your smartphone supports LTE -A.

Thus, smartphone makers began to catch up with mobile operators. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of modem manufacturers. Until now, the most productive modem gives maximum speeds of 150/50 Mbit / s, i.e. owned by Cat .4. While this circumstance is not too upsetting, because such speeds, if achieved in practice, are admirable. However, the production of mobile routers seems to be starting to catch up with smartphones. Cat .6 routers from Huawei and Netgeer began to appear on the market (does not support Russian bands). So the Huawei E5787s-33a router can be bought on AliExpress for about 10 thousand rubles.

I must say that the real speeds achieved in 4G + mode are far from declared, but they are much higher than in simple 4G mode. The author conducted a series of experiments in Moscow, where it is not difficult to find LTE-A (operator Megafon), with a Cat .12 smartphone, the results of which are shown in the screenshots. The first screenshot is the speeds for LTE-A (frequency aggregation is turned on), the second screenshot is for LTE-A (frequency aggregation is off). I note that for some reason, when taking a screenshot of the 4G + icon, the plus sign disappears. Why - I don’t know, during testing there was a plus - see screen.

Six measurements were taken for each mode.

Speeds with enabled frequency aggregation are on average noticeably higher, although not at times. The measurements were carried out near the tower, in the afternoon.

  Those wishing to experiment with LTE-A

If LTE -A appears in your area, as you can see, by measuring the frequencies of your chosen operator (the provider distributes the Internet at two frequencies, for example, LTE 800 and LTE 2600, i.e. uses the combination of B7 + B20) and your hands itch try what it is, then you can try to use a circuit of two MIMO antennas with diplexers. What of this will turn out (and whether at least something will turn out), you can write in the comments to the article.

I note here that the NITSA -5 MIMO 2x 2 antenna actually implements this scheme. The difference is that in NITSA -5 the function of the diplexers is performed by the broadband antenna emitters themselves, because each of them receives appropriately polarized signals from bands 790 ÷ 960/1700 ÷ 2700 MHzat the same time. I recall that the aforementioned antenna consists of two broadband irradiators spaced a certain distance and oriented so that their polarization vectors are orthogonal.

Overall, this antenna is well suited for receiving 4G + at short distances (up to 5 km in the presence of BS direct line of sight), as allows you to receive any combination of frequenciesLTE -A and adaptMIMO 4x 4 to widespread modemsCat .4 having only two inputsMIMO 2x 2.

  How to find out the LTE parameters of your 4G signal

The interface of the widespread Huawei 3372 modem gives almost all the information about the parameters of the 4G signal. On the main page of the interface, we see that we are receiving a signal from LTE, the mobile operator, the approximate signal level in the form of 5 bars, as well as an icon indicating that the connection is established - up-down arrows.

You can determine the frequency range (Band) and the data transfer standard (data spacing - FDD or TDD) on the following tab:

By setting the preferred mode to “LTE only”, unchecking the “all supported” option, you can take turns sorting through the ranges to find out what frequency you receive the signal at. If a signal is received, then information will be displayed at the top right, as in the screenshot, if there is no reception, the message “No signal” will appear. After all the changes, do not forget to click the "Apply" button.

But not so simple. All of the above works fine for FDD standard ranges. The TDD range cannot be set. I know for sure that in Moscow MTS distributes LTE in the Band 38 range, i.e. frequency 2600, type of transmission TDD. An attempt to set this range for the MTS SIM card fails, the modem reloads the page and returns to its previous state. You can setB 7 and B 3   both individually and simultaneously.

The measurements taken on a smartphone with Android 7.0 and a built-in Cat .12 modem showed the following result.

I note that Android 7.0, unlike the younger versions, can measure signal parameters and transmit data to applications that request them from the OS. The screenshot shows that in fact the MTS (in the screenshot of MGTS, this is the same thing) distributes LTE in the Band 38 range, i.e. in TDD format.

A possible reason for this situation is that the E3372 series modems are available in two versions - E3372H and E3372S. I have a modem with the letter H at the end, unlocked and reflash in HiLink. For modems E3372H, the serial number starts with the combination G4P, and for E3372S - L8F. I admit that S-series modems can tune to B38, but I can’t check, because I do not have at hand the appropriate modem.

So the modem interfaceHylink   gives almost all the information about the parametersLTE -signal. However, when determining the frequency range (Band ) may make mistakes when data is transmitted in the formatTDD . To determine the "band" it is advisable to use other tools, in particular applications running on Android 7.0 and corresponding smartphones.

  References

When writing an article, in addition to the links indicated in the text, the following materials were used.

Sincerely yoursdmitryvv

What is 4G (LTE)? According to Wikipedia, LTE (literally from the English Long-TermEvolution- long-term development, often referred to as 4G LTE) is a standard for wireless high-speed data transmission for mobile phones and other terminals working with data (modems, for example). It increases throughput and speed by using a different radio interface along with an improvement in the core of the network. The standard was developed by 3GPP (a consortium developing specifications for mobile telephony). The LTE wireless interface is incompatible with 2G and 3G, so it should work on a separate frequency. In Russia, three frequency ranges are allocated for LTE - 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz.

LTE FDD and LTE TDD

The LTE standard is of two types, the differences between which are quite significant. FDD - FrequencyDivisionDuplex (frequency separation of the incoming and outgoing channel) TDD - TimeDivisionDuplex (temporary separation of the incoming and outgoing channel). Roughly speaking, FDD is parallel LTE, and TDD is serial LTE. For example, with a channel width of 20 MHz in FDD LTE, part of the range (15 MHz) is given for download (download), and part (5 MHz) for upload (upload). Thus, the channels do not overlap in frequency, which allows you to work simultaneously and stably for loading and unloading data. In TDD LTE, the same 20 MHz channel is completely given up for both downloading and uploading, and the data is transferred one way and the other one at a time, while loading still has priority. In general, FDD LTE is preferable, because It is faster and more stable.

Frequency ranges LTE, Band

LTE networks (FDD and TDD) operate at different frequencies in different countries. In many countries, several frequency ranges are operated at once. It is worth noting that not all equipment can work on different "bands", i.e. frequency ranges. FDD ranges are numbered from 1 to 31, TDD ranges from 33 to 44. There are several additional standards that have not yet been assigned numbers. Specifications for frequency bands are called bands (BANDs). In Russia and Europe, band 7, band 20, band 3 and band 38 are mainly used.

In Russia, four frequency ranges are currently used for 4th generation networks:

As an example, I will give the frequency distribution among the main Russian telecom operators in the LTE2600 (Band7) range:

As you can see from this scheme, Beeline only got 10 MHz. Rostelecom also got only 10 MHz. MTS - 35 MHz in the Moscow region and 10 MHz throughout the country. But Megaphone and Yota (this is the same holding) got as much as 65 MHz for two in the Moscow region and 40 MHz throughout Russia! Through Yota, only Megafon in 4G standard virtually works in Moscow, in other regions - Megafon and MTS. In the TDD range, television (Cosmos-TV, etc.) will operate throughout Russia except Moscow.
  For the full frequency distribution of mobile operators in Russia, see.

4G LTE networks in Russia

Frequency distribution among operators across Russian regions can be found.

For those who find it difficult to remember the numbers of band bands or do not have the right reference at hand, I recommend the small RFrequence android application, a screenshot of which is given below.

LTE Categories

Subscriber devices are classified into categories. The most common today are devices of the 4th category CAT4. This means that the maximum achievable speed of the mobile Internet for reception (downlink or DL) can be 150 Mbps, for transmission (uplink or UL) - 50 Mbps. It is important to note that this is the maximum achievable speed in ideal conditions - the main of which are you are not far from the tower, there are no more subscribers in the cell, optical transport has been brought to the base station, etc. The most common categories of subscriber devices are listed in the table.

The table requires some explanation. Mentioned here are “carrier aggregation” and “additional technologies”. I will try to explain what it is.

Frequency aggregation

The word “aggregation” in this case is understood as a union, i.e. frequency aggregation is a combination of frequencies. What this means - I will try to explain below.
  It is known that the transmission reception rate depends on the transmission channel width. As we saw from the table in the previous section, the channel width for download, for example, MTS is 10 MHz in the Band7 band (except Moscow), and 10 MHz for return. To increase the download speed, the operator redistributes the frequencies bought by him in the ratio of 15 MHz to download and 5 MHz to return. Other providers do the same.

Once, one of the developers came up with a bright idea - what if we transmit a signal not at one carrier frequency, but at several at the same time. Thereby, the transmit / receive channel is expanded and the speed will theoretically increase significantly. And if you still transmit each carrier according to the MIMO 2x2 scheme, then we get an additional gain in speed. This receive-transmit scheme is called “frequency aggregation.” It is this scheme that the Internet uses 4G + or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

The table shows that for Cat.9, it is necessary for the transmitter and receiver to be able to transmit and receive signals at three carrier frequencies (in three bands) at the same time, the width of each channel should be at least 20 MHz. For Cat.12, it is additionally necessary that the antenna devices are connected according to the MIMO 4x4 scheme, i.e. in fact, 4 antennas are needed on the receiving and transmitting sides. Mysterious characters 256QAM mean a certain type of modulation of the signal, allowing more densely packed information. Those who wish to familiarize themselves with this topic in more detail can start familiarizing themselves with the material in the Wikipedia article and with the local links.

Receiver categorization

The frequency aggregation scheme is being actively developed by Russian providers, many agreements have been concluded on the mutual use of frequency ranges, and the antenna facilities of base stations are being reconstructed. However, there is one problem - on the receiving side, the subscriber must be able to receive a signal at several carrier frequencies simultaneously. Not all smartphones, tablets and modems support frequency aggregation and, therefore, cannot work in 4G +.

Since 2016, the documentation for smartphones indicates the frequency ranges (bands) and the LTE category in which they know how to work. For example, for a smartphone released in 2017, Huawei P10 Plus, among other parameters, is indicated:

In addition, this smartphone has a built-in antenna IM IMO 4x4 and a corresponding modem that allows you to process signals at once on two carrier frequencies. If your smartphone supports frequency aggregation, then the tab "settings"\u003e "mobile network" will look something like this:

If so, then your smartphone supports LTE-A.

Thus, smartphone makers began to catch up with mobile operators. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of modem manufacturers. Until now, the most productive modem gives maximum speeds of 150/50 Mbit / s, i.e. owned by Cat.4. While this circumstance is not too upsetting, because such speeds, if achieved in practice, are admirable. However, the production of mobile routers seems to be starting to catch up with smartphones. Cat.6 routers from Huawei and Netgeer began to appear on the market (does not support Russian bands). So the Huawei E5787s-33a router can be bought on AliExpress for about 10 thousand rubles.

I must say that the real speeds achieved in 4G + mode are far from declared, but they are much higher than in simple 4G mode. The author conducted a series of experiments in Moscow, where it is not difficult to find LTE-A (operator Megafon), with a Cat.12 smartphone, the results of which are shown in the screenshots. The first screenshot is the speeds for LTE-A (frequency aggregation is on), the second screenshot is for LTE (frequency aggregation is off). I note that for some reason, when taking a screenshot of the 4G + icon, the plus sign disappears. Why - I don’t know, during testing there was a plus - see screen.

Six measurements were taken for each mode. Speeds with enabled frequency aggregation are on average noticeably higher, although not at times. The measurements were carried out near the tower, in the afternoon.

Those wishing to experiment with LTE-A

If LTE-A appears in your area, as you have seen by measuring the frequencies of your chosen operator (the provider distributes the Internet at two frequencies, for example, LTE800 and LTE2600, i.e. uses the combination of B7 + B20) and your hands itch to try what it is, then you can try to use a circuit of two MIMO antennas with diplexers.

After launching the application, go to its settings and check the box "Define GMS / UMTS / LTE frequencies".

Then, the information you are interested in about the used frequency range should be displayed on the main screen.

In our case, the smartphone connected to the Tele2 network according to the 4G standard at a frequency of 1800 MHz (band 3).

3G (UMTS) networks themselves were already quite advanced technology and their later versions 3.75G with support for HSPA + technologies were actually the forerunner of a new type of communication of the fourth generation 4G. Ultimately, LTE connectivity became the main 4G standard, which was then upgraded to LTE advanced. The following requirements were voiced for LTE advanced: the speed standard for moving objects over 100 Mbit / s, for stationary over 1 Gbit / s. Unlike its predecessors, thanks to the new radio module, LTE no longer supports 2-3 main frequencies, but an entire frequency band from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. Channels became more broadband, and new types of signal modulation and data transmission protocol that became fully digital (including voice) provided higher speed.

Comparison table of GPRS, 3G, 4G networks

For equipment 4G networks allocated about 70 standard frequency ranges, the so-called BAND.

Used in Russia.

3 in the range of 1800 MHz FDD; 7 in the range of 2600 MHz FDD; 20 in the range of 800 MHz FDD;

31 in the 450 MHz FDD band; 38 in the range of 2600 MHz TDD.

BAND table used by mobile operators in Russia

Designations FDD and TDD indicate the types of signal processing FDD is Frequency Division Duplex (frequency separation of the incoming and outgoing channels), TDD - Time Division Duplex (temporary separation of the incoming and outgoing channels). In this case, if we have a channel width of 20 MHz in FDD LTE, part of the frequency range (15 MHz) is given for reception, and part (5 MHz) for signal transmission. Channels do not overlap in frequencies and provides stable loading and unloading of data. TDD LTE completely gives the band to receive and transmit, but the data is transmitted alternately, with the highest priority receiving data.

According to statistics, the most common LTE band in our country is 1800 MHz, and therefore you should buy a 4G signal repeater for this frequency.

4G LTE Categories

Since the range of frequencies used is quite large, and almost every year improvements are made for the receiving and transmitting equipment (new types of modulation, support for frequency aggregation, and much more), special categories were introduced to standardize the equipment. The essence of these categories is quite simple - a higher category means a higher speed of reception and transmission. The most widely used today are CAT3-CAT4 categories. This means that the maximum achievable speed of mobile Internet reception (DownLink) can be 150 Mb / s, for transmission (UpLink) - 50 Mb / s. For the average user, knowledge of the LTE equipment category is currently a very important factor, as many new devices (the same mobile phones or routers) may simply not support the necessary data rate in hardware. To date, in most newer models of phones, modems and routers that support the LTE standard, they usually indicate the category number. We will make a reservation that today devices of the 5-6 category are just beginning to appear on the market. Although in fact there are already 16 categories and they will be added, here is a table for 14 main categories.

As can be seen from the table, starting from category 6 (cat.6), the devices already have the new LTE-A (Advanced) standard. LTE-A is almost the same LTE supporting the so-called frequency aggregation. Aggregation of frequencies allows a smartphone, router, modem to work simultaneously on several frequencies at the same time, thereby expanding the channel for receiving and transmitting information. In this case, the device is connected immediately to several BANDs that are serviced by the operator. Accordingly, this will be possible if the router or phone supports LTE-A standard in hardware.

So today, the theoretical Internet speed in 4G LTE networks from 1Gb and higher is mainly limited by the equipment being manufactured, i.e. Manufacturers have yet to catch up with existing standards ... And on the approach is already 5G, but we will talk about this a little later.

In fact, this is one and the same thing, just in the characteristics of smartphones sometimes indicate one designation, and sometimes another.

We are dealing with a high-speed method of data transfer in mobile devices, which is implemented through the integration of special communication modules.

LTE - what is it in smartphones?   The so-called “4th generation standard” is an advanced method of information exchange that has replaced 3G.

When the protocol in question was developed, the main goal was to create the possibility of providing access to the Internet at high speed with a significant reduction in the cost of the service itself. That is, "you pay less - you get more." In foreign countries, this scheme has worked, but in the post-Soviet space, 4G is not yet used everywhere, and the tariffs are "slightly" too high.

To evaluate all the advantages of the new technology, it is enough to use it at least once on the phone. Alas, not all devices support the standard.

If you intend to purchase a gadget with LTE, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the characteristics, since it happens that the same model is available in two versions - with and without 4G. The availability of an additional module does not affect the cost too much.

What is LTE - detailed specifications

The new protocol works on the basis of existing third-generation networks, which greatly facilitated the task of implementing the technology. Additionally, equipment optimization is carried out, but no radical changes are made. Due to such manipulations, the channel capacity increases up to 326 megabits per second, and query processing time has been reduced hundreds of times and is only 5 ms. Of course, these are the maximum possible indicators that you will not see in practice. In the best case, the speed will be 50-60 Mbit, but you must agree that this is already a significant leap compared to 3G.

What is LTE in a smartphone? This is a radio module that can operate in a wide frequency range of 1.4 MHz - 20 MHz with the possibility of channel differentiation. Sound confusing? In fact, everything is simple - this approach allows the simultaneous use of IP telephony, voice messaging (VoLTE) and other communication services on the same device, creating a significant load on the data transmission channels. If earlier this was not possible from a technical point of view, now everything is real. This opens up new opportunities not only for private users, but also for corporate clients.

Why does this technology reduce the cost of communication services and improve their quality? The fact is that in order to service more subscribers, fewer pieces of equipment are required.

Comparison of 3G and 4G

The easiest way to see the difference is with a visual illustration:

But the speed of the Internet connection is not the main advantage of LTE in the phone. Here are some of the features of the standard:

• Support for integration with E-Ultra (protocol of the future, which was under development in 2017);
• Communication stability - even moving at a speed of over 300 km per hour, the signal will not disappear, be interrupted;
• Packet data is transmitted through radio switching;
• The frequency range has been significantly expanded (this was discussed above).

How to connect to LTE?

I mentioned earlier that not all phone models support 4G, but if you bought the device not earlier than 2016, then there should be no problems. Now almost all manufacturers are introducing technology into the released models of mobile gadgets. Although there are some limitations here, 4-ji, in the course of its improvement, had several versions, each of which is characterized by its “speed” limit. Therefore, even if the nearby "tower" is equipped with cutting-edge equipment, your gadget may not give out the maximum promised by the operator.

4G LTE what is it in the phone (iPhone) - we figured it out. Now it's time to move on to practical recommendations - how to use LTE. I recommend watching the following video, which will explain the essence better than any text:

It is worth noting that you do not need to install additional software to connect to fourth-generation networks. If you correctly configured your device in accordance with the parameters of the operator (correctly specified the access point, data for authorization), then when you enter the 4G coverage area, you should automatically switch to a high-speed protocol.

From myself I’ll add the following: on many forums I saw posts by users who complain about certain models of the famous Korean brand. The fact is that after switching to LTE, the phone cannot “return” to 3G when the device leaves the territory with high-speed coverage. As a result, the gadget does not see the network at all, only a reboot saves. These are unpleasant moments. I repeat, this is not universal, but is typical only for some smartphones. It's good that there are no such problems on my iPhone!