LTE

Back to:	CIRM Knowledge Base
Page completeness level:	Low

What is LTE?

LTE stands for ‘Long Term Evolution’ and is a registered trademark owned by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). It is a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA technologies.

LTE does not meet the technical criteria of a 4G wireless service, but LTE Advanced, a major enhancement of the LTE standard, does meet the requirements for 4G, which are defined in the International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced) standard issued by the ITU-R.

LTE is incompatible with 2G and 3G networks, so it must be operated on a separate frequency band.

Useful Links

• Report on the sixth and final meeting of Joint Task Group 4-5-6-7 (Geneva, 21-31 July 2014) - includes report on mobile base station emissions