Cellular Technologies

Cellular radio is standards for implementing data access over cellular networks.

A cellular radio establishes a connection with the nearest available cell or base station
- Each base station has an effective range of up to 5 miles (8 km)
- links the device to global telecommunications networks
standards belong to a generation
- 2G and 3G cellular networks
  - were implemented by different technologies in different parts of the world
  - suffer from low data rates
- Converged 4G and 5G standards
  - are supported by telecomm providers worldwide
  - have faster mobile speeds
  - can provide fixed-wireless broadband solutions for home and businesses
  - support for IoT networks
  - devices must be installed with a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or chip issued by the network provider

4G – Long Term Evolution

Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G standard is a packet data communications specification providing an upgrade path for 2G and 3G cellular networks.

maximum downlink of 150 Mbps in theory
- 20 Mbps in real-world performance
LTE Advanced (LTE-A)
- specifies 300 Mbps downlink in theory
- typical practical performance is 90 Mbps downlink

can use broader radio spectrum
- from low (sub-1 GHz) to medium/high (6 GHz to 40 GHz)
- low bands have greater range and penetrating power
  - e.g., 900 MHz or 1,900 MHz
- high bands require close range (few hundred feet) and cannot penetrate walls or windows
  - referred to as millimeter wave (mmWave)
rather than a single large antenna serving a large wireless cell,
- 5G involves installing hundreds of smaller antennae to form an array that can take advantage of multipath and beamforming
  - to overcome the propagation limitations of the spectrum
  - referred to as massive MIMO
theoretical max peak rate of 20 Gbps
real-world rates range from 50 Mbps to 300 Mbps
- vary widely from country to country and region to region