NB-IoT and LTE-M Explained: Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed by 3GPP to enable a wide range of cellular devices and service. The advantage of LTE-M over NB-IoT is its comparatively higher data rate, mobility, and voice over the network, but it requires more […]
PLMN: What is a Public Land Mobile Network ? PLMN: A public land mobile network is a wireless communications system intended for use by terrestrial subscribers. Such a system can stand alone, but often it is interconnected with a fixed system such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The most familiar example of a […]
What is Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) ? Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) is a technology used in 4G LTE whereby voice and SMS services are delivered to LTE devices through the use of GSM or another circuit-switched network. Circuit Switched FallBack is needed in some networks because LTE is a packet-based all-IP network that cannot support […]
4G LTE Cells, Sectors and Antenna Beamforming Why Beamforming in Cellular Radio Design? In cellular radio network design, a simple hexagon is used to represent a complex object: the geographical area covered by cellular radio antennas. These areas are called “cells.” This shape lets us picture the cellular idea on a map, because when displaying […]
Beamforming and 8T8R LTE Radios New technologies, new techniques One of the early lessons learned by operators deploying LTE TDD was that of implementing beamforming with 8T8R (8 transmit, 8 receive) radio modules from the beginning. China Mobile is utilizing beamforming with 8T8R within the majority of its base stations from day one, a consequence […]
RF Connectors used for LTE Base Stations Specialised connectors are used for 4G & 5G LTE Base Stations. Key requirements include ability to handle high RF power levels as well as Low-PIM (Phase InterModulation) With all RF connectors the safe power handling is determined by the heating and subsequent oxidation of the centre ‘pin’ for […]
How fast will 5G be? Examining how fast the promised speeds for 5G: Currently -at time of writing, October 2018: The 5G standards are not yet finalised by the 3GPP and the most advanced services are still in the pre-commercial phase. In fact, we probably won’t see any commercial 5G services before at least 2020, so […]
The 5G NR (New Radio) Air Interface The 5G New Radio (5G NR) is a new air interface being developed for 5G. 5G NR is being developed from the ground up in order to support the great variety of services, devices & deployments which 5G will encompass, including diverse spectrum requirements, building on established LTE […]
Introducing Massive MIMO Technology Massive MIMO will play a key part in the 5G networks of the future. Several mobile network operators around the world have already begun rolling the technology out. Massive MIMO is important to 5G Networks Explaining Massive MIMO MIMO stands for Multiple-input multiple-output. While it involves multiple technologies, MIMO can […]
What is VoLTE? VoLTE stands for voice over LTE and it’s more or less exactly what it says on the tin. It’s voice calls over a 4G LTE network, rather than the 2G or 3G connections which are usually used. We tend to think of 4G as mostly being about downloading, streaming and web browsing, and indeed that’s […]