LTE

LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is the predominant form of mobile technology available in the UK; 4G equipment that utilises this technology is divided into different classifications based on their maximum data throughput capacities, similar in convention to the different categories of Ethernet cable.

Bear in mind that 5G LTE does not use these numbered categories, nor any alternative equivalent, but they do usually support a high-speed 4G Category for backwards-compatability purposes.

CAT 4

Although there are a lot of different 4G router classifications, over 20 in total, only a handful of them are commonly found in the current market. The first of these is Cat 4, a technology classification in which uplink data rates of up to 50Mbps and downlink data rates of up to 150Mbps are available via two 4G antennas (1x2 stream). Cat 4 is one of the most widespread classifications found in 4G routers and is usually all that’s needed for standard domestic installations.

CAT 6

The next common 4G router classification is Cat 6, a category in which uplink speeds of 75Mbps and downlink speeds of 300Mbps are available. This standard uses a 2x2 stream, therefore meaning up to two LTE antennas should be used, and also features carrier aggregation, meaning multiple bands from a single mast can be aggregated together simultaneously to produce greater throughput speeds than Cat 4 is capable of.

CAT 12

Cat 12 is the next common 4G classification, providing uplink speeds of up to 100Mbps and downlink speeds of up to 600Mbps through a 4x4 stream with up to four LTE antennas in use. Carrier aggregation is also supported.

CAT 20 & CAT 22

The final emerging router classifications are Cat 20 and Cat 22, categories only typically seen with high-end 4G routers and backwards-compatible 5G routers. Cat 20 supports uplink speeds of up to 200Mbps and downlink speeds of 2000Mbps, whereas the Cat 22 classification supports uplink data rates of up to 316Mbps and downlink data rates of up to 2500Mbps; this renders them both significantly faster than all the older 4G variants and requiring four antennas to achieve maximum performance. These classifications also use carrier aggregation facilitated by the mobile mast itself to utilise many bands together.

CAT 1

Some of our IoT gateway products support LTE Cat1, which is a standard specifically designed for IOT and M2M usage. It has a maximum download speed of 10Mbps and upload speeds of 5Mbps, making it specialised for low-throughput scenarios where the volume of data transmission is low. Cat1's minimal power usage and support of idle and sleep modes also offer great longevity and extended battery life (which can be imperative if a Cat1 device is being used in hard-to-reach locations).

CAT M1

Similar to Cat1 is CatM1: this a lower throughput, lower power-consuming alternative to Cat1, a standard designed for use in scenarios where data transmission is minimal and continuity is vital. It has a download and upload speed of 1Mbps each way.

Carrier Aggregation

It should be noted that all classifications from Cat 6 onwards support carrier aggregation, which is a feature in which multiple bands of a 4G/5G service are aggregated together in order to allow for higher bandwidth and greater throughput speeds. Cat 4 LTE does not support this feature and can therefore only use one band at a time. Carrier aggregation does rely on there being multiple bands broadcasting from a mast that the router itself supports and therefore the significance of its impact will vary from location to location.

 

Article written by Daniel Coombs - Updated: 31/10/2024.