LTE vs NB-LTE: Understanding the Key Differences

By RF Wireless Expert Team

Last Updated: August 25, 2026

This page compares LTE vs NB-LTE and describes the difference between LTE and NB-LTE (i.e. NB-IoT) technologies.

Specifications	LTE	NB-LTE or LTE-NB or NB-IoT
Specification	3GPP Release 8/9 (Basic LTE), 3GPP Release 10 (Advanced LTE)	3GPP Release 13 .. (Cat-NB1) 3GPP Release 14 .. (Cat-NB2)
Abbreviation	Long Term Evolution, General term for all 4G LTE	Narrow Band LTE
Device cost	Costlier	Cheaper, 5 to 10 $ per module, 10% less compared to LTE-M
Bandwidth	Supports various ranges of BW ( i.e. 1.4MHz, 3.0MHz, 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, 20MHz)	Narrower BW (180 KHz)
Latency	Higher than LTE-M , about 1.5 to 10 sec	Lower, about 50 to 100ms
Battery Life	Short	Long, +10 Years, depends on use case
Maximum Data rate	300 Mbps Downlink(DL) with 4x4 MIMO and 20 MHz configurations , 75 Mbps Uplink (UL)	< 100 Kbps (i.e. 30Kbps or 60Kbps)
Service costs or deployment costs	Higher	Lower
Coverage	About 2 to 10 miles	7 times of LTE
Voice support	Yes	No (only data is supported)
Mobility support	Yes	Limited
Frequency Bands	Bands include 1 to 12, 13 to 25, 33 to 43.	LTE in-band, LTE guard band and GSM repurposing
Module size	Not suitable as wearables	Suitable as wearables
Duplex support	Both half duplex and full duplex	Half duplex

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