When you are looking for a new smartphone to buy, the terms such as CDMA, 3G, GSM, LTE, UMTS, 4G, NFC, and so on will appear to describe the functions offered to it. Not to be outdone, terms like 4G and LTE are also touted as one of the functions offered on some smartphones.
In short, the letter “G” in 4G means “Generation”. 4G touted as the fourth generation in mobile data technology according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) Radio. While LTE stands for “Long Term Evolution” and is generally referred to as the development of wireless broadband speeds to meet the growing needs.
What is LTE?
LTE means “Long Term Evolution”. It is not defined as technology because and it refers more to efforts towards 4G. Thus, when your smartphone displays a 4G symbol on its connection, it is not capable of reaching the speed set by the ITU-R.
In the early stages of 4G network development, the lowest 4G speed set by the ITU-R is difficult to achieve. Although technology companies make huge investments to develop such connection technology.
To that end, the standards body has agreed to allow LTE to be labeled as 4G. As long as the speed offered is much better than a 3G connection.
As a result, network providers are beginning to market their networks as 4G LTE without having to follow the minimum requirements to achieve true 4G levels.
Most of these “first-generation” 4G technologies such as Mobile WiMAX and HSPA + do not meet the 4G specifications. Adding to the confusion, in October 2010, the ITU-R completed the evaluation of six candidates who allowed to use these terms to meet the complete requirements of the planned 4G standards. LTE-A (Long Term Evolution Advanced) terms are also used by some network providers to state the level of technology they offer is now nearing real 4G speed. The difference from regular LTE is, it is faster and more stable.
What is 3G?
When 3G networks began implementing, they would replace 2G. The network protocol offered by 2G is a basic network level that is now considered a must-have on any smartphone such as making phone calls, basic text messaging, and MMS.
Through the introduction of 3G, larger data formats can be accessed including plain HTML pages, videos, and music. Its speed is still considered slow, but much better than the 2G connection used before.
Speed
So the question is, can the speed difference between 4G and LTE? There may be no difference between the two unless you live in major cities with high-density populations.
The LTE-A speed offered is by far the fastest wireless network connection available to the public in most parts of the world. But, with more 5G services launch for the public last year, the landscape of mobile communication technology will change soon.
Connection suitability
The legal requirements of a 4G network need two components. First, a network that supports the required speed, and a device that can connect to the network, as well as download at a predetermined speed.
This means, if you have a smartphone equipped with a 4G LTE connection, it does not make you continue to be able to download at 4G speed if the surrounding network does not offer support for the connection. For example, if a car has a maximum speed of 220km/h, you can’t drive at top speed if you’re in a residential area.
“Real” 4G Standard
LTE-Advanced and Wireless MAX-Advanced are network technologies capable of achieving the “Real 4G” specification. This standard has a wider user before the 5G rolling out in near future.
Other network technologies such as LTE, WiMAX, or HSPA +, the connection speed is not as fast as LTE-A and WiMAX-Advanced networks.
LTE or as advertised as 4G LTE is technically not able to achieve the specified specifications. To differentiate between LTE-A and WiMAX Advanced with current 4G technology, ITU-R has defined it as ‘True 4G’. But this term not widely used.
| Standards | HSPA + | WiMAX Rel 1 | LTE | LTE-Advanced | WiMax Rel 2 | “Real 4G” |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download | 84 Mbps | 128 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 1000Mbps | 1000Mbps | 1000 Mbps |
| Upload | 22 Mbps | 56 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 500Mbps | 500Mbps | 500 Mbps |
The Next step
Network providers all around the world are working on fifth-generation mobile broadband connections. In short 5G. The ITU-R has also set the technology standards that need to adhere to as 5G.
5G technology is also expected to use radio frequencies higher than 4G. Which is in the range between 30GHz to 300GHz. It can also reduce the congestion in radio frequency bands due to the rising number of users.
