I Need an LTE Primer

[john30308]

This one's for the radio/phone techs out there. How about a short course in LTE. I sort of understand the difference between CDMA and GSM. Where does LTE fit in? Is it an entirely different standard that requires another radio in the phone, or can a LTE radio also do CDMA or GSM? Does LTE carry both data and voice, or is voice still over the existing technology? Is all LTE created equal - will an LTE phone (Verizon Droid Bionic perhaps) be able to work on the eventual AT&T LTE network? Thanks

 

[shadowdude777]

It's only for data as far as I know. It's also going to be a separate radio.

Also, it seems like Verizon's and AT&T's LTE might both work on 700MHz, which would mean the same phone could be used on two different networks. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution#Frequency_bands

 

[monsterenergy22]

Per the vzw ces rep, verizon bought a very large majority of the 700mhz spectrum and is the only carrier that will have that continuous coverage over the whole us by i beleive 2014. Att may have bits of the 700 mhz specturm posted, but nothing like vzw has. All of verizons 4g phones will have sim cards in them which will help when it comes to roaming

Lte is essentialy the same, but is a type of 4g. Tmobile uses the hspa+ standard for 4g which is slower then lte but has its positives as well.

And im not 100% sure, but i remember reading that lte will support voice and data at the same time, so suck on that one att

 

[Frisco]

... Att may have bits of the 700 mhz specturm posted, but nothing like vzw has.

Makes sense,... so, basically, AT&T continues their legacy of having "bits" of what Verizon has, coverage-wise.

 

[john30308]

Any other thoughts from anyone?

- Does LTE carry both data and voice, or is voice still over the existing technology?

- Is all LTE created equal - will an LTE phone (Verizon Droid Bionic perhaps) be able to work on the eventual AT&T LTE network?

 

[shadowdude777]

Per the vzw ces rep, verizon bought a very large majority of the 700mhz spectrum and is the only carrier that will have that continuous coverage over the whole us by i beleive 2014. Att may have bits of the 700 mhz specturm posted, but nothing like vzw has. All of verizons 4g phones will have sim cards in them which will help when it comes to roaming

Lte is essentialy the same, but is a type of 4g. Tmobile uses the hspa+ standard for 4g which is slower then lte but has its positives as well.

And im not 100% sure, but i remember reading that lte will support voice and data at the same time, so suck on that one att

HSPA+ is not 4G in any way, shape or form. LTE can reach the 4G standard but I don't believe Verizon's current implementation is considered 4G.

If LTE phones will support voice and data, it's because LTE will be used for data and the 1x CDMA radio can be used for voice. This is much like AT&T's ability to use EDGE for voice and 3G for data. Notice that an iPhone won't be able to browse the internet if you're on the phone and only on EDGE (read: 95% of the time)? That's cause the EDGE radio is being used for voice and so can't be used for data simultaneously, while if you have 3G, you can use it for data and have EDGE take care of voice.

 

[monsterenergy22]

While hspa+ doesnt compare to verizon's, its still tmobiles marketing term for it. Its essentially faster 3g.

The hardware and software is all there assuming att uses the same lte verizon uses. The only problem where it wont happen is if vzw and att dont come together on a mutual agreement.

Also, lte will support data and voice as long as you are in a 4g coverage area. 4g will be your data, and 3g will be your voice. If you arent in a 4g area, you wont be able to do it. From the vzw ces rep

 

[shadowdude777]

Well considering that AT&T is getting some really amazing looking phones at CES this year (did you see the 4.5" Infuse? I'm more excited about that then the gimmicky Atrix, myself), it'd be nice if we could take phones meant for use on the 2nd-biggest but crappiest network in the US and use them on the biggest and best network.