Many people are curious to know what is LTE. This growing technology is officially called 3GPP Long Term Evolution for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (3GPP UMT LTE). The wifi broadband technology is structured to grant roaming internet access for handheld devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops. It has been devised with many improvements over the prior mobile communication standards. The forum responsible for its development and uniformity is the Third Generation (3G) Partnership Project.

The 3GPP was set up during December of 1998. Its contributors belong to internationally based telecommunications companies which are known as the Organisational Partners. The initial remit of the 3GPP was to evolve 3G mobile phone systems which were universally pertinent. Since its inception, the scope of its duties have expanded.

Presently, the 3GPP is accountable for developing and maintaining three main technological areas. Among them are the GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications), which contains the evolution of radio access technologies. It is also accountable for the evolved 3G and beyond mobile networks which are based upon the 3GPP core systems. The group also maintains evolved IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystems) which are access-independent.

The LTE technology can be put to use easily and can supply high data rates with low latencies across great distances. Known as 4G (fourth generation), it is superior over 3G systems. For instance, preliminary results show the 4G network can easily attain data download speeds of nearly 16 Mbps, as opposed to around 1 Mbps for 3G connections. The average upload speed for the 4G system is about 1.5 Mbps, compared with 0.7 Mbps for the 3G.

LTE networks are much simpler to deploy than its predecessors. Its network architecture is much easier because it is only a network that is packet switched. The system does not possess the capacity to control text messages and voice calls natively. Those types of services are mainly controlled by networks that are circuit-switched, such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and GSM.

The Simplified Architecture Evolution (SAE) of the LTE is essentially a simpler version of the architecture which is currently utilised by the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS). The UMTS defines a comprehensive network system which encompasses the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), along with the core Mobile Application Part (MAP) network. It also certifies users through their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.

The recent 4G system is reliant upon two forms of radio links. The downlink travels from the tower to the device, and the uplink moves from the device to the tower. Because two different types of interfaces are used, wireless communications in both directions are optimised.

The downlink technology is much more advanced than both the CDMA and the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), which have been used since 1990. The newly developed radio interface is known as the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). It orders that multiple in-multiple out (MIMO) technology is utilised. That means a device has multiple connections to each cell, which enhances the stability of each connection and lessens its latency tremendously.

For the uplinks, a scheme known as DFTS-OFDMA (Discrete Fourier Transform Spread, Orthogonal Frequency Division, Multiple Access) is utilised. It generates a superior Single Carrier Frequency (SC-FDMA) signal. Among other elements, it has a greater power ratio for uplinking.

There are two subcategories within the LTE technology: the FDD (Frequency Division), and the TDD (Time Division). The most usual kind is the FDD. It relies on different frequencies for uplinks and downlinks in the form of band pairs. As a result, each band supported by a phone comprises of two different frequency ranges. The TDD variation depends upon a single frequency range inside a band. This band is divided into pieces in order to assist both the transmission and reception of signals within its single frequency range.

Wimax is an older technology that relies upon underlying wireless (wi-fi) networks. In contrast, within the UK, LTE is founded upon the same type of technology which is currently utilised by the country's 3G network. For that reason, the UK plans to utilise the 4G LTE technology instead of Wimax.

Understanding what is LTE may assist people make informed buying choices. Choosing new devices which support 4G networks are informed decisions. This technology is anticipated to dominate global telecommunications for many years.