LTE Explained: A Complete Guide for IoT

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has revolutionized mobile communication, powering everything from smartphones to the expanding Internet of Things (IoT).

As industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and smart cities increasingly rely on connected devices, LTE’s ability to deliver fast, reliable connections becomes even more essential.

In this guide, we’ll explore LTE in detail, breaking down its key features, its pivotal role in IoT networks, and how it stacks up against 5G technology.

What is LTE Network?

LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is a wireless standard used globally for high-speed mobile broadband data used by every major carrier. It was originally introduced under the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8.

It powers 4G (fourth-generation cellular) networks, so it is also known as 4G LTE or LTE network. It is faster than earlier 2G and 3G technologies and offers improved network capacity and speed. 

Table 1: Long Term Evolution’s position in Cellular Generation technologies

Cellular Generation*	Standard	Max Download Speed	Max Upload Speeds
2G	EDGE	236.8 Kbps	59.2 Kbps
3G	UMTS	380.4 Kbps	380.4 Kbps
3G	HSPA	14.4 Mbps	5.76 Mbps
3G	HSPA+	168 Mbps	22 Mbps
4G	LTE	100 Mbps	50 Mbps
4G	LTE-A	1 Gbps	500 Mbps
4G	LTE-A Pro	3 Gbps	1.5 Gbps
5G	–	10 Gbps	1 Gbps

Short on time? Watch our LTE explainer video

Components of an Long Term Evolution Network: Unveiling the Architecture

A comprehensive Long Term Evolution network comprises of four essential subsystems that work synergistically to provide robust wireless connectivity:

1. Core Network: This is the central intelligence of the network, composed of servers and gateways. It orchestrates access, quality of service, billing, and network policies. Additionally, the core network facilitates access to the internet and multimedia services, including telephone calls.
2. Radio Access Network (RAN): RAN consists of the familiar cell towers that dot our landscapes. These towers house transceiver equipment and antennas, delivering wireless coverage to devices within their reach.
3. Backhaul Network: Comprising fiber and microwave connections, the backhaul network forms the data pathways between the RAN and core network. It’s the conduit through which data flows from users to the network and back, enabling seamless communication.
4. User Equipment: This includes the devices such as mobile phones, M2M sensors, mobile routers, smart buttons, modems (like Soracom Onyx), microprocessors, and microcontrollers. This equipment directly connects to the RAN, ensuring effective communication between devices and the network.

LTE Frequency Bands and Their Importance 

LTE frequency bands refer to the radio frequencies used by LTE to transmit data. Long Term Evolution operates over multiple frequency bands, and each carrier deploys its LTE network on specific bands depending on the country and region.

Common Long Term Evolution frequency bands include 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz, among others. These frequencies allow for a balance of coverage and speed.

Lower frequencies, like 700 MHz, provide better penetration through walls and long-range coverage, while higher frequencies, such as 2600 MHz, offer faster speeds but shorter range. 

Long Term Evolution uses a different frequency band than Wi-Fi (band 2), so it won’t interfere with existing Wi-Fi signals, and has higher peak data rates.

What is LTE-A and LTE-A Pro?

Long Term Evolution’s development split into two branches: One of these was high-speed advancements and introduced LTE-A and LTE-A Pro.

It was only with Long Term Evolution’s evolution to LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), defined in 3GPP Release 10, that Long Term Evolution networks could fully deliver on the promise of 4G. This offered faster speeds, greater reliability, and better support for IoT applications like real-time monitoring and data-intensive tasks

For IoT applications, Long Term Evolution’s widespread availability and mature infrastructure is useful but the decision on which network to use should be based on the specific project’s needs. 

Table 2: LTE, LTE-A’s and LTE-A Pro overview

	LTE	LTE-A	LTE-A Pro
3GPP Release	Release 8-9	Release 10-12	Release 13 and beyond
LTE Category	CAT1-5	CAT6-16	CAT17-26
Max Download	150Mbps	1Gbps	3Gbps
Carrier Aggregation	0	Up to 5	Up to 32, LAA, LWA
Carrier Bandwidth	10MHz	100MHz	640MHz
Latency	100ms	10ms	2ms
MIMO (Max)	2	8	32
QAM	64	64	256

Why is it Relevant for IoT?

Long Term Evolution plays a key role in supporting IoT applications due to its widespread availability, robust capabilities, and ability to accommodate diverse device needs. Here are five reasons why it’s important for IoT:

• Wide coverage: Long Term Evolution networks are widely available, providing connectivity to IoT devices in many locations without the need for additional infrastructure. This is crucial for devices that are deployed across large geographical areas, such as smart meters, agricultural sensors, or fleet management systems.
• High data capacity: It offers the bandwidth and speed to handle large amounts of data, which is important for IoT applications that require frequent or high-volume data transfers, like video surveillance or smart cities.
• Support for low-power devices: Long Term Evolution technologies such as LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for Machines) and NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) are specifically designed to support low-power, wide-area (LPWA) networks. These technologies allow IoT devices to have extended battery life while maintaining connectivity over long distances, which is crucial for applications like remote monitoring and asset tracking.
• Reliability and security: Long Term Evolution networks are designed to offer a high level of reliability and built-in security features, which are essential for mission-critical IoT applications, such as healthcare devices, industrial automation, and connected vehicles.
• Scalability: It can support a large number of connected devices within a network, making it suitable for IoT applications that involve deploying thousands or even millions of sensors and devices, like smart cities or environmental monitoring systems.

What is LTE-M?

The second branch of Long Term Evolution development moved toward lower speeds and improved power efficiency with LTE-M.

LTE-M, or Long Term Evolution for Machines, is a type of low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) radio communication technology and a 4G cellular network designed specifically for the Internet of Things (IoT). It is a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) specific variant and features two main versions: Cat-M1 and Cat-M2. 

Further Reading: What are the Differences Between LTE CAT M1 and NB-IoT Connectivity?

LTE-M is capable of speeds of up to 1 Mbps downlink, making it suitable for IoT applications like smart meters, asset tracking, and wearables. Its focus on low-speed and low-power communication is ideal for connecting devices with the need for mobility, limited data needs, and long battery life requirements, making it a cost-efficient option for large IoT deployments.

LTE vs. 5G: What’s the Difference?

5G is the latest evolution in wireless networks, offering faster speeds, lower latency, and the ability to handle more connected devices simultaneously – While LTE-A (4G) can support speeds of up to 1 Gbps, 5G can theoretically reach speeds of 10 Gbps.

Some Long Term Evolution technologies are specialized for IoT devices – like LTE-M and NB-IoT – and are examples of LPWAN (low-power wide-area networks). These provide long-range connectivity and affordability considerations that may differ from 5G’s features. The LPWAN networks of today will evolve to 5G RedCap (reduced capabilities) networks in the future.

It’s important to remember that Long Term Evolution and 5G still work together. LTE acts as the fallback network when 5G coverage is unavailable, and 5G networks data sessions are managed using LTE’s control plane (5G NSA – non standalone) .

While 5G is still in its rollout phase, Long Term Evolution remains the dominant network in many areas, especially rural or less densely populated regions. The transition speed will be different from country to country. A main driver of the transition is the runtime of frequency allocation contracts between the mobile network operators and the government within every single country and/or region.

Speak to Soracom About Your IoT Deployment

LTE continues to be the backbone for IoT deployments thanks to its widespread availability, low latency, and support for various frequency bands. 

While 5G promises faster speeds and greater capacity in the future, Long Term Evolution will remain a vital part of IoT infrastructure for years to come, especially in regions where 5G is not yet available. 

At Soracom, we help businesses navigate their IoT connectivity needs, whether through LTE or transitioning to 5G, ensuring you choose the right network for your deployment.

Connect with us to talk about your IoT project