LTE

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and isn’t as much a technology as it is the path followed to achieve 4G speeds.
In response, the regulating body decided that LTE, the name given to the technology used in pursuit of those standards, could be labeled as 4G if it provided a substantial improvement over the 3G technology.

Comparison between 4G and LTE:

	4G	LTE
Stands for	4th Generation	Long Term Evolution
Description	4th generation of telecommunication standard as set by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).	Indicates that the technologies are on their way to meet up with 4G specifications.
Ideal Data Speed	100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) for high mobility communication, such as from trains and cars, and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for low mobility communication, such as pedestrians and stationary users
Actual Data Speed	Varies according to country and region, as well as network provider	Varies according to country and region, as well as network provider
Relative Data Speed	Faster than 3G, but nowhere close to actual 4G	Faster that marketed 4G, but nowhere close to actual 4G

 In 3G networks, the radio network controller or RNC, controlled what were called NodeB base stations in the network. However, with LTE networks, the base stations had an embedded control functionality which was called eNB (evolved NodeB), removing the need for an RNC altogether.

LTE introduced to get higher data rates, 300Mbps peak downlink and 75 Mbps peak uplink. In a 20MHz carrier, data rates beyond 300Mbps can be achieved under very good signal conditions.

LTE uses both Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode. In FDD uplink and downlink transmission used different frequency, while in TDD both uplink and downlink use the same carrier and are separated in Time.

LTE supports flexible carrier bandwidths, from 1.4 MHz up to 20 MHz as well as both FDD and TDD. LTE designed with a scalable carrier bandwidth from 1.4 MHz up to 20 MHz which bandwidth is used depends on the frequency band and the amount of spectrum available with a network operator.

All interfaces between network nodes in LTE are now IP based, including the backhaul connection to the radio base stations.This is great simplification compared to earlier technologies that were initially based on E1/T1, ATM and frame relay links, with most of them being narrowband and expensive.

Works with GSM/EDGE/UMTS systems utilizing existing 2G and 3G spectrum and new spectrum. Supports hand-over and roaming to existing mobile networks.

Advantages of LTE

High throughput: High data rates can be achieved in both downlink as well as uplink. This causes high throughput.
Low latency: Time required to connect to the network is in range of a few hundred milliseconds and power saving states can now be entered and exited very quickly.
Simple architecture: Because of Simple architecture low operating expenditure (OPEX).