LTE VS 4G

4G, known as 4^th generation of mobile communications, and LTE (Long Term Evolution) are 3GPP specifications for mobile broadband networks. Different eras of mobile communication are categorized into generations such as 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G, where each generation has a number of technologies such as LTE. ITU (International Telecommunication Union) considers LTE-Advanced as the true 4G standard, while it also accepts LTE as a 4G standard.

Following specifications need to be met by any network to be considered as 4G:

·         Based on an all-IP packet switched network.

·         Peak data rates of up to approximately 100 Mbit/s for high mobility such as mobile access and up to approximately 1 Gbit/s for low mobility such as nomadic/local wireless access.

·         Dynamically share and use the network resources to support more simultaneous users per cell.

·         Scalable channel bandwidth 5–20 MHz, optionally up to 40 MHz.

·         Peak link spectral efficiency of 15 bit/s/Hz in the downlink, and 6.75 bit/s/Hz in the uplink (meaning that 1 Gbit/s in the downlink should be possible over less than 67 MHz bandwidth).

·         System spectral efficiency of up to 3 bit/s/Hz/cell in the downlink and 2.25 bit/s/Hz/cell for indoor usage.

·         Smooth handovers across heterogeneous networks.

·         Ability to offer high quality of service for next generation multimedia support

 What is the difference between 4G and LTE?

·        ·          LTE Advanced, which is also known as true 4G standard, is evolution of LTE standard. Therefore, LTE and LTE Advanced have compatibility, where LTE terminal can work in LTE Advanced network, and LTE Advanced Terminal can work in LTE network.

·         Capacities of true 4G standards are much higher when compared with LTE. LTE supports up to a maximum of 2.7 bps /Hz /cell, while LTE Advanced (True 4G) has a capacity of 3.7 bps /Hz /cell. Even though, both LTE and LTE-Advanced (true 4G) support the same spectral efficiency in downlink, uplink spectral efficiency is much higher with true 4G.

·          Both LTE and 4G are focused on data rate improvement. Peak downlink data rate of LTE is 300Mbps, while official 4G definition requires 1Gbps downlink data rate. Therefore, true 4G has much higher data rate when compared with LTE, in both uplink as well as in downlink.

·         LTE is known as 3GPP release 8, while true 4G is considered as 3GPP release 10, which is evolution of initial LTE technology.

·         LTE networks are being deployed around the world now, while true 4G networks are still pending for trials. This is simply due to the stability of LTE when compared with LTE-Advanced. Initial LTE standards are published in March 2008, whereas initial stages of LTE-Advanced (True 4G) were standardized in March 2010.

·         4G is the next generation of mobile broadband communication, whereas LTE is the basis for true 4G technologies such as LTE-Advanced.