LTE Frequencies: 4G Bands Used Today in Russia and the World

In their work, mobile network operators use certain frequency ranges. They are used to transmit a mobile signal. But radio frequencies are a fairly limited resource. In order to get them, telecommunications companies contact the relevant government agencies. It so happened that in different countries and regions of the world, mobile network operators use different frequency ranges in their work. Moreover, for their use in practice, a mandatory condition will be support by the user device, be it a modem or a smartphone, of the frequencies used by the operator.

Today, there are a number of specifications compiled by specialists from the 3GPP consortium, which develops global standards for mobile communications. They prescribe all permissible frequency ranges. Even if a mobile operator wants to arbitrarily use a range that is not included in 3GPP standards, no smartphone or 4G modem in the world will be able to connect to its network. That is, to ensure stable and functional operation of cellular communications, it is important that the device supports the frequency that your operator works on.

In today's review, we will dwell in more detail on what LTE frequencies are, get acquainted with the ranges that are used today in Russia and the world. We will highlight the main classifications and talk about what development awaits LTE technology in the foreseeable future.

What is LTE technology?

LTE is a technology based on which data is transmitted wirelessly. This term began to be used in practice during the development of GSM/UMTS technology standards. The main task facing the developers was to create a solution that would ensure the maximum increase in the speed of digital processing of transmitted signals. The first active work in this direction began in the early 2000s. Here, smartphones and other terminals are used that work together with this data. LTE is also considered an update for operators interacting with the CDMA2000 network.

If we talk about this technology with reference to the territory of Russia, then today the 4G frequency is used here. When choosing a new smartphone for themselves, users must take into account the data on the range that their operator uses in practice. Most modern gadgets that are released for a particular country already have all the necessary settings, but there may be exceptions. That is, each buyer must make sure that the model they choose will work in the LTE band that their cellular operator provides.

Features of the range system

LTE frequency ranges will differ from each other not only depending on the operator, but also based on which country of the world we are talking about at a given time. So, today there are about 44 different frequencies for 4G. In order to classify such frequency ranges and distinguish them from each other, the term 4G band began to be used. Each such band is a standard based on a set of corresponding parameters:

• Band number. This is a serial number, which is determined in accordance with the specification of UMTS and LTE cellular networks. While only GSM networks were presented on the market, there was no such serial numbering. Today, when classifying them, equivalent LTE band numbers are indicated.
• Duplex type. There are 2 main modes here: Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). FDD technology involves parallel processing of incoming and outgoing signals, which has a positive effect on the overall speed of this process and provides a higher quality connection. At the same time, the TDD technique is based on dividing channels by frequencies, in particular for receiving and transmitting a signal. In this case, all traffic processing will be carried out sequentially, which can somewhat reduce the speed of receiving information. In practice, TDD and FDD technologies are often combined, which allows you to form a single network that can significantly increase the connection speed. Along with this, a number of additional bands are allocated for use as downlinks operating in frequency aggregation mode - Supplemental Downlink, that is, SDL.
• Frequency range. Modern cellular network operators have received at their disposal certain spectrum elements, on the basis of which they build the operation of their systems. That is, the frequency range is considered one of the key characteristics of any band.
• Channel width. This parameter is responsible for the permissible channel width for each individual band. Each operator has at its disposal one or more channels that are allocated to it by government agencies.
• Radio frequency spacing. This is the difference between the frequency at which the signal is received and transmitted. This parameter will be relevant only for bands based on FDD technology.

LTE frequencies used today in the Russian Federation

If we talk on a global scale, then there are thousands of mobile operators on the market that in practice use the fourth generation of communication, that is, 4G. But if we talk directly about Russian providers working in this niche, then the following should be highlighted:

1. Yota. Despite the fact that in terms of the number of users it is slightly inferior to the market leaders, this company was the first to start using the LTE standard in Russia.
2. MTS. A mobile operator that covers more than 80 regions of the country with its LTE services.
3. Megafon. An actively developing company that has been actively operating in the market since 2012.
4. Beeline. Today, this mobile operator operates on such band frequencies as b7 and b20.
5. Tele2. An operator with a huge number of users that has organized effective work on 4G frequencies in the b3 range.

All these operators do not use all possible frequency ranges in their work. By definition, 3GPP has allocated them:

• b3: from 1800 to 1880 MHz;
• b7: from 2620 to 2690 MHz;
• b20: from 790 to 820 MHz;
• b31: from 452.5-457.5 MHz to 462.5-467.5 MHz;
• b38: from 2570 to 2620 MHz.

Such LTE frequency ranges are used in the Russian Federation because all those communication standards that are relevant today and inherent in the 4th generation cannot yet be fully used here. The reason is that we are talking about an advanced high-tech system, which a priori cannot be combined with outdated communication standards that are still used in Russia. In order to change this situation and overcome the existing problem today, separate working channels supporting a higher level of communication standards were allocated for Russian operators working with 4G networks.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the LTE frequencies that Russian mobile operators currently use in the table.

If we talk directly about the LTE frequencies that are used today in other countries of the world, then you can familiarize yourself with their characteristics in this table:

What are low and high frequencies

If you analyze the table above, you can come to a fairly simple conclusion: most Russian mobile operators prefer to use low frequencies in their work. This is largely due to the fact that signals with a frequency of up to 2000 MHz are capable of overcoming obstacles such as concrete walls quite well, which ensures a fairly high stability of network operation. But at the same time, such frequency ranges support high-speed connections quite poorly. This is due to the fact that they are too actively present in areas with high population density. As a result, in megacities and any other large settlements, in practice, serious problems arise with providing communication.

Unlike low frequencies, high frequencies, that is, over 2000 MHz, have the opposite effect. Yes, a concrete barrier can become a serious obstacle for them in some cases, but in densely populated regions, each user can count on a really high-quality connection, an instant connection.

If you take these nuances into account, then a solution such as a combination of low and high frequencies arises by itself. This is what can provide a connection of fairly good quality and minimize interference in operation. To create a high-quality connection, the appropriate equipment is installed directly on the roofs of multi-story buildings. This is what provides higher performance for the transmitted signal. Moreover, in this case, it is possible to more easily organize the process of bringing the Internet to users' apartments.

LTE categories: main types

Another LTE classification that is worth paying attention to is the communication categories based on user devices. So, today in practice the most widely used equipment is category 4 - CAT4. It is characterized by providing fairly high mobile Internet speeds. In particular, it is capable of reaching 150 Mbit/s when working on signal reception and 50 Mbit/s - on its transmission. But we want to draw your attention to the fact that these parameters can be implemented only in ideal operating conditions. Namely:

• the user is at a minimum distance from the cell tower;
• at the moment, there are a small number of users in the cell, or none at all;
• optical transport is connected to the base station.

It is clear that it will be very, very difficult to implement such conditions in practice, so the real indicators will be noticeably lower.

Along with CAT4, higher categories of subscriber devices are already available on the market today, in particular CAT6, CAT9, CAT12, CAT16. Thus, for CAT6, the highest download speed will be 300 Mbit/s, for CAT9 - about 450 Mbit/s, for CAT12 - about 600 Mbit/s, and the last category CAT16 is capable of providing an indicator of up to 980 Mbit/s. But here we would like to draw your attention once again to the fact that we are talking about indicators that can be achieved only in ideal operating conditions, which we have already mentioned above. That is, you need to understand in advance that these figures are unattainable in normal network operation.

What is frequency aggregation

Continuing to talk about LTE communication frequencies, we will also touch on such an issue as aggregation or combining frequencies. In this case, we are talking about a parameter that is determined by the ratio of the speed of receiving and transmitting a signal to the width of the transmission channel. All those frequencies that the cellular operator buys for itself, it will redistribute for downloading and unloading data. At the same time, large volumes will be directed directly to downloading, since it is perceived as the receipt of content, that is, it will be more significant for the end user. In most cases, such a ratio fluctuates within 4:1.

That is, directly within the LTE frequencies allocated by the mobile operator, in this case it becomes possible to simultaneously transmit a signal on several frequencies. This will contribute to the expansion of transmission channels, which will have a positive effect on increasing the speed of the Internet as a whole. Thus, operators that work on the basis of the MIMO 2x2 connection scheme will be able to increase the Internet speed for their subscribers many times over. For such a communication category as CAT9, a mandatory requirement will be the presence of such settings in the transmitter and receiver so that they can simultaneously operate on 3 different frequencies. If we talk about the CAT12 category, then the MIMO 4x4 connection scheme must be used here without fail.

What is LTE-advanced 4G+

Today, all mobile operators that work on the Russian market pay serious attention to the development of frequency aggregation schemes. They sign agreements, contracts on the mutual use of those LTE frequency ranges that are at their disposal. Such a solution can improve the quality of subscriber service, increase the speed of the Internet and make it as accessible as possible for each consumer. But their efforts will not be enough to implement such ideas. It is also very important that the user devices themselves can receive not only the corresponding LTE frequency range, but also work simultaneously on different frequencies. In this case, we are talking about such a technology as LTE-advanced 4G+.

We are talking about the most developed 4G network that is used today in Russia. But we want to draw your attention to the fact that its characteristics do not exceed the indicators of conventional 4G. The key difference in the LTE-advanced 4G+ technology is that the frequencies belonging to the operator are already summed up. As a result, the reduction factor in the signal transmission channel is noticeably reduced. An example is the MegaFon operator, which ensured the merging of a number of ranges within band 7, thanks to which it was able to increase the connection speed to 300 Mbit/s. But if you additionally combine the frequencies of band 7 and band 3, you can achieve an increase in speed up to 450 Mbit/s.

But in reality, the throughput of advanced channels is lower than the 4G standards established at the international level. But in the context of Russian operating conditions, these figures exceed 4G. Users have conducted studies that confirmed the fact that frequency aggregation still increased the speed of the Internet, but not by several times.

Each mobile network operator that has the appropriate licenses and equipment required to implement such work can use different LTE frequencies in its work. But it is safe to say that today the trend towards expanding the channel capacity by using a wider range of frequencies has already clearly manifested itself. But in order for LTE-advanced 4G+ technology to work, the user's smartphone must have the appropriate technical capabilities.

Checking if your phone supports 4G

The first thing we would like to draw your attention to is that all smartphones, including previous generations, support 3G. But with 4G, the situation is somewhat different. And the easiest way to determine whether your smartphone can work with these signals is to simply carefully study the instructions for it. If you did not throw away the packaging, then you will find the relevant document in it or you can use the Internet. But the relevant information is also stored in the settings of your phone. Here you will need to enter the "Mobile network" tab, and then select "Network type".

Modern gadget manufacturers have already initially begun to adapt to all operators that work on the global market today. They release smartphones equipped with functionality that allows them to work with 4G networks. Not only are mobile modem manufacturers lagging behind them. But still, you can already pick up CAT6 models on the market, although not all of them support Russian bands.

Determining the LTE parameters of your 4G signal

We will consider this point using the Huawei 337 modem as an example. Information about what 4G signal it can receive is embedded in its interface. In particular, the main page provides all the basic information about LTE signals, as well as mobile operators capable of working with this modem. The signal level, presented in the form of 5 stripes, can also be called an indicator of the ability of the equipment to work at a higher speed.

If you, as a user, scroll through the data using the arrows in different directions, you can study additional information about all frequency ranges, as well as those data transmission standards that are implemented in your device. If necessary, you can also make adjustments to the speed parameters of your smartphone. But in the standard version, Huawei 337 is designed to work with LTE signals.

If you uncheck the indicator, you can alternately move between the operating ranges, determining for yourself at what frequency this or that option receives a signal. If you see that all 5 stripes are filled, this will indicate signal support. If there is no signal, you will receive a corresponding notification that will appear in the upper right corner of your screen. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the presence of 2 or 3 filled bars will indicate the presence of a signal, but its indicators will be quite weak, so you should not rely on them. That is, you need to select the option where at least 4, and ideally all 5 bars will be filled, and then select it as the main one for further work. And do not forget to save the changes.

We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that the information presented above is typical for the standard FDD operating range. If you want to set the parameters for TDD, it will not be so easy to implement the idea even if you know the frequency of the transmission type, as well as the operating band of your cellular operator. The fact is that as soon as you set these indicators, your smartphone will independently update the information and return the settings to those that were specified here by default. But at the same time, you will be able to set the use of band 7 and band 3 both simultaneously and in parallel.

What to expect from the development of LTE technologies in the foreseeable future

If we talk about global practice, then here the testing of 5th generation mobile networks is already actively underway. At the same time, not all regions of the Russian Federation have implemented support for 3G communications today. But there is still hope that the development of LTE technologies will become widespread in Russia in the foreseeable future. By and large, mobile operators have no other choice but to move in this direction, to develop the 4G standards that they use in practice, while ensuring effective integration into the international global network.

New technologies already have broader prospects for expansion, which will be especially relevant in the case when in some regions it is physically impossible to organize a wired connection. Here, problems are solved by installing a special antenna, which will act as a signal repeater. Today, such equipment is already actively used in practice, but it can operate in FDD or TDD mode, but only with certain frequencies.

Summing up

We hope that the information provided in today's review will help you navigate such a question as LTE frequencies, 4G bands. You will also be able to see in the presented tables which frequencies are used today by mobile operators in Russia, as well as in other countries of the world, and get acquainted with the key technical characteristics.

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