What is 4G LTE, 4G LTE Popular Types and 4G LTE in India

gadgetstouse.com /gadget-tech/all-about-4g-lte-in-india/26238
Deepak Singh

October 12, 2014

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4G LTE is slowly but steadily gaining ground in India and several telecom operators are expected to roll out there 4G
LTE services in India by next year. 4G LTE is still in its nascent stages, but is shaping up to be a meaningful
consumer requirement in near future. Let us take a look at what 4G LTE is and what is the current scenario in India.

What is 4G, LTE and the difference between 4G and LTE

4G where G stands for Generation was developed by 3 rd generation partnership project (3GPP) aiming at
providing up to 10 X speeds of 3G networks. 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) is one of the several competing 4G
standards (some other being with Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and WiMax).
4G LTE band 40, 2300 MHz (TDD-LTE) is the LTE bandwidth that is available in India as of now and that is what
Airtel is offering in India. Indian government has also auctioned 1800 MHz (FDD-LTE) spectrum, but no operator is
offering that till date.

3G VS 4G LTE
The difference is in Speed. While 3G networks are supposed to offer anything between 3 Mbps to about 21 Mbps,
but in practical use, the download speeds are much lower. in India, TRAI wants to set minimum 1 Mbps download
speed for 3G which in itself speaks about its dismal scenario. While Airtel 4G LTE in India is able to deliver what 3G
theoretically promises in practice.

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You can get up to 21 Mbps download and 11-12 Mbps upload speed, but high speed also means you will run out of
data limit very soon. Since all 4G Data plans come with a cap, you will be stuck with 128 kbps after exhausting your
data limit. Speeds vary in a vast range 3 Mbps 29 Mbps according to credible buzz on the internet. Airtel claims 5
times increase over 3G from its LTE network. Theoretical numbers will however point to sky high speeds which
arent practically realized in India yet.

What is the Difference Between TD LTE and FD LTE? Which one is better?
Radio communications occur in both directions. This is referred as Duplex Scheme and this two way communication
can take place in two possible ways Time division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), thus
giving two type of LTE standards.

Time Division Duplex LTE (TDD LTE) or simply Time Division LTE (TD LTE) transmit and receives on the same
bandwidth , but alternatively. Thus transmission and reception is on the same bandwidth with a time gap. This type
of duplexing requires less hardware cost (for telecoms) and you can use more bandwidth for both downloading and
uploading. Disadvantages include Guard period required to ensure uplink and downlink dont clash and
discontinuous transmission.

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Frequency Division Duplexing or simply frequency Division LTE (FDD LTE/ FD LTE) splits bandwidth to transmit
uplink and downlink, with a guard band in between. This theoretically leads to less interference and better reception.
Main disadvantage is more bandwidth required.
On the whole, adding all factors, its hard to pick one of the two as a better option over others. In India FD LTE will
arrive by next year or perhaps even later. With 4G scenario fully messed up with different players providing varying
speeds depending on a number of factors, you cant pick one of the two as better option. Having said that, it will cost
less to deploy 4G on 1800 MHz FDD LTE bands as compared to 2300 MHz TDD LTE band (1800 MHz band is
already in use for 2G, etc), from operators point of view, so we can expect more competition and options for FDD
LTE in future.
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4G LTE in India. Which 4G LTE Phone should you buy?

In India Airtel was the first operator to Introduce 4G LTE in India. Airtel 4G LTE works on 2300 MHz TD-LTE and is
operational in around 15 cities. Aircel is the second Indian Telecom Operator to launch 4G LTE on the same 2300
MHz TDD-LTE spectrum.

Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd is expected to start 4G LTE services on both 2300 MHz TD LTE and 1800 MHz FD LTE (14
circles)in India. Vodafone will also soon begin 1800 MHz FD LTE 4G LTE in India this year. Reliance Jio is the only
company who has successfully acquired 4G LTE spectrum in entire India.

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Before you buy a 4G Enabled smartphone, you should check what band it supports to know if it will work in your
area. Phones like HTC One M8 support FD LTE 1800 MHz 4G LTE and wont support 4G till we see FD LTE in India
by next year. Some popular phones which support 4G LTE in India today (must support 2300 MHz TD LTE band)
include LG G2, Samsung Galaxy Alpha , iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, LG F70, etc. Dual Mode LTE phones which support
both TD LTE and FD LTE are also available in Global markets.

Benefits of 4G LTE advanced (LTE-A)

LTE Advanced or Cat 6 LTE can be considered a future roadmap for 4G LTE, which we wont be seeing at its full
potential any time soon. LTE Advanced will theoretically give up to 300 Mbps download speed (as compared to 150
Mbps in Cat 4 LTE) which is about 10 times more than peak LTE speed which practically reaches user end. You will
need a handset which supports Cat 6 LTE (Huawei Honor 6, Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE- A) apart from a telecom
operator which provides the same. Neither is readily available and It should take some long time before we see such
high data speeds in India.

Conclusion
With Most data users still using 2G, 4G will take some time to hold its ground in India. The main challenge will be to
work out economical plans, affordable and appealing to Indian Youth. 4G LTE still has a long way to go and it will still
take time for operators to provide heavenly Internet speeds at right prices. With Internet and Data boom around the
corner, this should happen sooner rather than later.

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