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 […]
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 […]
MMW: Millimeter Wave essential to meeting spectrum crunch and data demand Gigabit LTE is boosting capacity to meet demand today and setting the stage for a smooth roll out of 5G that will enable users to have a consistent network experience as they move from 5G hot spots onto gigabit LTE. But there’s a big […]
What are ITU Regions? The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in its International Radio Regulations, divides the world into three ITU regions for the purposes of managing the global radio spectrum. Each region has its own set of frequency allocations, the main reason for defining the regions. These regions are used to define the frequency bands […]
Frequency Reuse Plans in 4G / LTE 4G LTE cellular systems address the need of high capacity Wireless Internet services to mobile and fixed devices. Frequency Reuse planning is essential to allow seamless coverage and efficiency use of the available spectrum. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless communications to achieve high […]
Passive Intermodulation (PIM) as a source of 4G/LTE interference What is PIM? One cause of self-disturbance in LTE Networks is Passive Intermodulation (PIM). PIM is interference resulting from the nonlinear mixing of two or more frequencies in a passive circuit. If the interference coincides with a network’s base receive frequencies, it can cripple network performance and throughput. Possible PIM […]
Reducing Passive Inter-Modulation Passive Inter-Modulation, also known as PIM is a problem that can affect FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) LTE systems. Explaining the PIM Problem: Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM) products are caused by passive components such as duplexers, connectors, cables, and antennas. These components are nonlinear and create intermodulation products that can leak into the receive […]
LTE Advanced Pro and the Roadmap to 5G The 3GPP standards define the roadmap from LTE through LTE Advanced Pro to 5G, lead by the major players in the cellular industry – operators and vendors together. Evolution of LTE to 5G LTE is evolving from LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro) and up […]