What is 4G LTE?
LTE is the acronym for Long Term Evolution; the name used to describe a type of cellular technology. The term LTE is used by cellular network companies like AT&T, Verizon Wireless. Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. to describe a specific type of network capability that can provide speeds faster than older cellular network technologies such as 4G and 3G. Right now it's the fastest type of cellular network.
Although LTE is used alone to describe an LTE network, it's also commonly used as 4G LTE and means the same thing when used this way. By the way, the G in 4G and 3G stands for Generation, which describes the generation of technology used.
Faster speed on cellular networks results in a faster display of web pages and emails. When you use your smartphone. Files are quicker to download from any cloud services you might use for storage, and faster speeds help music and video streaming services, like Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, and YouTube to play smoother when you use your cellular network connection.
When the letters LTE appear on the top of your smartphone or tablet, you'll know you're using an LTE network. The letters will appear to the right of the name of your cellular network company. When you're connected to LTE, it's the fastest possible cellular data network possible.
Where did LTE come from?
The term “Long Term Evolution" and LTE is a trademark that is owned by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). It's a technology standard that is managed by the ETSI for the benefit of its members, which includes over 800 members including cellular providers as well as governments and small companies.
The technology was first proposed by a Japanese telecommunications firm in 2004 and studies on the feasibility of the standard started in 2005. New technologies were making it possible to increase the data capacity of wireless cellular networks, more cellular communications were being used for Internet data, there was less need for voice capacity on cellular networks. As a result, the companies in the cellular technology business were preparing for the future.
What's not LTE
There are times when you'll see letters at the top of your smartphone like 4G, 3G, or even the letter E. When these letters appear, you're using a cellular connection that's either 4G, which stands for 4th Generation, 3G, which stands for 3rd Generation or E, which stands for Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution and is one of the oldest data cellular technologies. As cellular companies improved their networks, different names were used as the technology improved.
By the way, this question comes up from students, the letters have nothing to do with the model of phone you have, these terms are used to help you see what type of cellular network you're connected to when you use your device.
How much faster is 4G LTE
On average, a 4G LTE connection is about ten times faster than a 3G connection. While a 3G connection is used for email and most web page browsing, to stream music and videos and download larger files it's 4G LTE speeds that make it possible. In fact, sometimes a 4G LTE Internet connection can be as fast or faster than a physical broadband or WiFi Internet connection is the signal is strong enough.
4G alone can be up to 3.5 times faster than 3G. Since you're using a wireless signal, the strength of the signal can make a difference in the speed of your connection. That's one reason your smartphone shows a display with the signal strength of the cellular signal in addition to the type of connection you're using.
What do you need to use 4G LTE
For you to be able to use 4G LTE, you need to be within the range of a cellular tower from your provider that uses 4G LTE technology. As of this article, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and most others have upgraded their national networks to support 4G LTE almost everywhere.
In addition to 4G LTE coverage from your cellular provider, you'll also need a phone that is capable of using the 4G LTE service, which means it was built with the antenna and circuitry to use 4G LTE since phones can't be upgraded from 3G to 4G or 4G LTE. Almost all smartphones sold in the past 2-3 years are capable of connecting using 4G LTE.
If you aren't within the range of a 4G LTE cellular tower signal, your smartphone will automatically switch down to 4G, and if that's not available, to 3G, and even to EDGE. Your phone will automatically switch over to using the fastest network speeds possible as you move around, and you don't have to do anything.
To my way of thinking
With smartphones becoming the primary computing device that people use every day, having access to a fast Internet connection as often as possible is not only a convenience but almost a necessity. Especially if you rely on your smartphone for common computing tasks. Fortunately, cellular companies have upgraded their networks to make fast Internet access convenient and available, with 4G LTE speeds available almost everywhere in populated areas.
Being aware of the speed of your Internet connection when using a cellular smartphone, tablet, or any other cellular device can help you determine why your device is responding faster or slower. It simply might be the speed of your cellular data connection that's affecting it.