LTE FREQUENCY BANDS

The majority of Operators started LTE Networks on a single frequency band at a given area like 1800 MHz and 700 MHz and due to the capacity requirements and carrier aggregation data rates, Operators have added other LTE frequency like LTE 2600 MHz as an example and therefore more frequencies being used for LTE networks. The reasons are fixed capacity of each band, Interference between Operators and towers.

Going forward, the Carrier aggregation will be the main solution for simplifying multiband traffic management resource sharing between the LTE networks with current already deployed networks like 2G and 3G. Sharing of resources will also be of concern by operators as the deployment of LTE continues since LTE Network will have a combination of new carrier aggregation devices and non-carrier aggregation devices.

Technically, it is possible to use a single band and if left to service providers they will prefer deploying a low frequency as possible considering the good propagation in the low frequency is much better compared to high frequency bands but this is not always the case as they have to follow the Government regulation rules regarding frequency assignment.

Therefore LTE1800 and LTE2600 are used in city based scenario with a lot of buildings and obstructions as they travel shorter distance. LTE800 is therefore used in rural areas where a single Base station can cover a wider area.

Currently, Operators are using LTE1800 and LTE2600 for IBS/DAS sites.