Shared Carrier vs Assigned Carrier | Difference between Shared Carrier and Assigned Carrier

This page compares LTE Shared Carrier Vs Assigned Carrier and mentions difference between Shared Carrier and Assigned Carrier. Other LTE related links are also provided.

Shared carriers of one RAT (Radio Access Technology e.g. GSM) utilize same frequency spectrum used by the other RAT (say LTE). Assigned carriers are separate frequency carriers which are used by different RATs.


shared carrier

The figure-1 above depicts shared carrier concept. The comparison between shared carrier and assigned carrier is summarized in the table below.


Features Shared Carrier Assigned Carrier
Bandwidth efficiency High, carriers of different RATs (e.g. GSM, LTE) utilize same bandwidth assigned to telecom operator Low, carriers of different RATs utilize separate bandwidth
network configuration complex simple
inter frequency handover complex, Refer Inter RAT Handover>>. simple
Call establishment Fast, due to less signaling overhead Slow
hardware/software requirement less, It does not require any additional equipments when moving from one RAT to the other RAT installation. more

Example Application:
These terminologies are used in LTE in VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) mode. Here in "shared carrier mode", both the carriers one for VoLTE and the other for data occupies same frequency space. In "assigned carrier mode", two dedicated carriers are assigned for these tasks.

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