4G speed vs 4G range | What is the value of 4G speed, 4G range

This page defines 4G speed vs 4G range and mentions values of 4G speed and 4G range covered by 4G LTE network.

What is 4G?

Introduction:
• 4G stands for Fourth Generation Wireless technology mainly designed for data.
• It follows its predecessor technologies viz. 3G (UMTS with speeds of 384 Kbps), 3.5G (HSDPA/HSUPA with speeds of 2 Mbps) and 3.75G (HSPA+ with speeds of 30 Mbps).
• It is IP based technology used to provide high quality, high speed, high capacity and low cost services.
• It supports both stationary and mobile broadband services and follows same 3GPP specifications similar to backward cellular technologies such as 2G and 3G.
• The technologies such as mobile wimax, LTE fall under 4G roof.

4G LTE system

4G operates in various frequency bands from 2 to 8 GHz range as per FDD and TDD topologies. The figure-1 depicts LTE system architecture. Refer 4G bands >> for more information.

4G Speed

• The term 4G speed refers to data transmitted in units of time over 4G cellular network. It is also known as 4G throughput.
• It is measured in Mbps or Gbps.
• The link from 4G UE (i.e. mobile phone) to eNB (i.e. 4G base station) is called uplink and link from eNB to 4G UE is called downlink. 4G speed in downlink and uplink is different due to resource allocations, modulation techniques and number of antennas used in transmit/receive chains.
• Typically 4G supports speeds of about 1 Gbps for stationary mobiles and 100 Mbps for high mobility users such as those in bullet trains.
• LTE throughput formula is as follows. Refer LTE throughput >> and LTE throughput calculator >>.

4G speed or LTE throughput formula

• 4G speed is about 10 times higher than 3G speed.
• Practically 4G speeds of about 5 to 12 Mbps has been achieved in the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps has been achieved in the uplink. Peak downlink speeds of about 50 Mbps has also been achieved by few 4G network operators. Here like other cellular and wireless technologies, downlink speed is called as download speed and uplink speed is called as upload speed.

4G Range

• The coverage range is the distance over which 4G network provides cellular connectivity or 4G signals to serve 4G phones >>.
• Like 3G, 4G network is consisting of number of eNBs spread across the city regions. In 3G base station is known as Node-B where as in 4G it is known as eNB.
• 4G covers higher coverage range compare to 3G and 5G both.
• Usually range of a cellular system depends power transmitted by 4G cellular towers. The indoor areas which are very poor in 4G coverage are often served by 4G small cells or femto cells which acts as repeaters between 4G mobile and 4G cell towers.
• 4G range supported by most of the 4G networks lies between 25 to 35 Kms with good LOS (Line of Sight). In poor LOS, 4G range of about 12 to 15 Kms can be achieved. As mentioned 4G range depends on various factors such as antenna gain, transmit power, use of beamforming techniques, channel through which 4G signal is travelling and so on.

4G LTE RELATED LINKS

This tutorial section on LTE basics covers following sub topics:
LTE tutorial  LTE features  LTE terminologies  Frame  TDD FDD  Channel types  PHY  stack  throughput  CA   cell search  network entry  Timers  PSS vs SSS  Security   LTE Bands  EARFCN  Hotspot  router  What is VoLTE  VoLTE originating call flow  VoLTE UE attach and registration procedure 

5G Speed and 4G Speed Range | GSM Speed Related Links

Following links are useful to understand 4G speeds and 5G speeds as well as 5G/4G speed range etc.
5G throughput
GSM GPRS EGPRS Throughput
LTE Throughput calculator
LTE Throughput

Difference between LTE Advanced vs LTE Advanced Pro vs 5G Links

Article on LTE Advanced>>   LTE-a vs LTE-a Pro>>   5G vs LTE Advanced Pro>>  


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