WiMAX vs LTE Technology

WiMAX vs LTE Overview

WiMAX and LTE are both using a name 4G technology. Which technology is better? Check the comparison test

between WiMAX and LTE.

What is 4G

4G is the fourth generation of mobile internet access technology. ITU-R has made requirements for 4G called IMT-

Advanced. International Mobile Telecommunication Advanced – ITM-Advanced requirements are the following:

Maximum speed of 1 G for low mobility communication like pedestrians

Maximum speed of 100 M for high mobility communication like trains and cars

Both WiMAX and LTE still don’t meet these requirements, but they both use the name 4G.

What is really 4G What is 4G and what is the 4G Speed.

More about the 4G internet and 4G technologies you can read on 4G Internet – There is still no Real 4G Technology on

the Market.

WiMAX and LTE Similarities

Before going in WiMAX vs LTE duel, let’s check their similarities. Both these 4G technologies are quite similar. Check

below the similarities:

They are both all IP technologies

They both support advanced MIMO – multiple input and multiple output antenna technology

They both use similar modulation technology based on OFDM – orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

WiMAX vs LTE Differences

Beside similarities, WiMAX and LTE also have many differences:

LTE-A uses different channels bandwidth from 1.4 MHz to 100 MHz, while WiMAX uses channels bandwidths up

to 40 MHz

LTE uses different modulation for uplink (SC-FDMA) and downlink (OFDMA), while WiMAX uses the same

modulation for both uplink and downlink – SOFDMA

LTE frame duration is 10 ms, WiMAX is 5 ms

LTE-A can handle speeds up to 450 km/h or 280 mph, while WiMAX 120 km/h or 75 mph

WiMAX network doesn’t support legacy systems like 2G and 3G, while LTE is compatible and enables

coexistence and roaming between LTE and 3G.

Cost for building WiMAX network is lower than cost for building LTE network

LTE Advantages over WiMAX

What is LTE

LTE is compatible with previous mobile technologies – GSM, GPRS, UMTS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, CDMA-one,

CDMA2000, EV-DO, EV-DV and the synchronous SC-CDMA

Enables much greater speed for the mobile users – speed up to 450 km/h or 250 mph

Better technology for power consumption of mobile terminals – it uses SC-FDMA for uplink – modulation

technology that saves battery life of mobile terminals

LTE-A is only true 4G technology

Read more about the LTE technology in the post What is LTE, 4G Technology and LTE Advanced.

WiMAX Advantages over LTE

IEEE 802.16

Deployment of WiMAX network is much cheaper than deployment of LTE network

Great choice for private mobile broadband wireless networks

More about the WiMAX standard you can read in the post 802.16 – Standard for Wireless MAN or WiMAX Network. In

the post What is WiMAX and How WiMAX Works, you can read about what is WiMAX, WiMAX vs WiMAX2 and how

WiMAX works.

The Conclusion of WiMAX vs LTE – Which 4G Technology is Better

The LTE is much more popular and widespread than WiMAX and I am sure that the big majority of the mobile

operators will chose the LTE as its 4G technology. One of the biggest advantages of LTE over WiMAX is its compatibility

with all previous mobile technologies GSM, GPRS, UMTS, WCDMA, CDMA, CDMA200, EV-DO. WiMAX is compatible with

the previous version of WiMAX that were not used as mobile technologies. It is also important to mention that the

latest LTE standard, LTE – Advanced or LTE-A, is the only true 4G technology.

WiMAX is a better choice for the low cost installing network in developing countries, wireless replacement for the DSL,

private networks in dedicated industrial segments.

Read another article - 4G vs LTE – key differences explained about the WiMAX vs LTE.

4G vs LTE – key differences explained

Anyone who’s been in the market for a new smartphone recently isn’t just spoilt for choice when it comes to awesome

Android handsets, but there’s an ever growing range of data packages and network types to choose from as well.

Of course, you’re likely familiar with the older 3G standard, but newer handsets are often listed with a variety of “next

generation” communication technologies, advertised as 4G, LTE, and sometimes 4G LTE. While that may make them

appear virtually identical on the store shelves, there are actually some drastic differences between the technology

advertised and the actual 4G mobile communication standard.

The 4G standard

All the way back in March 2008, the International Telecommunications Union-Radio (ITU-R) decided on a set of

specifications for its new 4G standard. The ITU-R is the United Nation’s official agency for all manner of information and

communication technologies, and aims to help promote and regulate various communication standards across nations.

The ITU-R decided upon a set of requirements for bandwidth, spectral efficiency, and a load of other technical points,

for future 4G networks. But the most important point for us users is the peak download speeds, which are defined as

100 Mbit/s for high mobility devices, such as mobile data speeds on your smartphone while driving in car, and up to

approximately 1 Gbit/s for low mobility local wireless access. To put that in some perspective, typical current download

speeds are often in the range of 10Mbit/s, while 4G should offer 100 times faster downloads at a rate of 1Gbit/s.

It’s a long road, but faster data speeds are heading our way. True 4G could offer data speeds more than 10 times the

current LTE download speeds.

That sounds great, but the ITU-R doesn’t have any control over implementation. As such, “first generation” 4G

technologies, such as LTE or Mobile WiMAX, have been criticized for not matching up to the full specification. The

reason for this is that other groups, such as 3GPP or IEEE, who work closely with the technology companies responsible

for delivering the hardware, had already coordinated next-gen technologies with their members.

LTE-Advanced, the true 4G

It wasn’t until October 2010 that the ITU-R completed an assessment of six candidates to be considered true 4G

technologies. After much deliberation, LTE-Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced were designated IMT-Advanced

compliant technologies, and the age of real 4G began. LTE-Advanced is the technology that we are going to see in

western markets, so here’s a little rundown of what makes LTE-A so special.

Firstly, it’s important to know that LTE-A isn’t just about handset download speeds, there’s a big push to make

improvements to infrastructure in order to achieve these high download rates. LTE-A aims to improve data speeds by

using a mix of traditional macro cells and vastly improved small cells. The aim is to offer better high speed coverage at

the network’s edge and more bandwidth, but the transmitters will have to function on different frequency bands in

order to avoid interference.

The big buzzword with LTE-A is carrier aggregation, which will allow receiving handsets to make better use of these

fragmented bands, in order to downloaded data faster. The LTE-A standard supports up to 5 carriers and up to 100MHz,

which will enable download speeds of over 1Gbit/s. However, launch will only support the aggregation of two 10 MHz

carriers, enabling peak data rates of 150 Mbit/s. The final important feature is the use of multi-antenna techniques

(MIMO) and Coordinated Multi Point (CoMP) to provide more capacity and more consistent data rates across cell

boundaries. In other words, you will be able to maintain a more consistant download rate as you move in and out of the

range of transmitters.

However, under pressure from 3GPP and IEEE, HSPA+WiMAX and LTE were also allowed to be labelled as 4G

technologies despite not offering these features, as many companies had already begun investing in these networks

during the two and a half year deliberation.

4G imposters

This has left the consumer market in a bit of a mess, allowing carriers to offer a variety of different “4G” plans for many

years, despite none of them having a network which meets the official requirements. Let’s breakdown some of the

technologies currently being offered as 4G, and why they don’t match up to the ITU-R standard.

A quick comparison of the theoretical and real world implementations of current and future network technologies. All

“4G” products currently on the market are considered “pre-4G”. Source: Tech Spot

WiMAX

US consumers may remember that Sprint was the first to the “4G” market with its WiMAX technology. However this was

only ever built to offer customers around 3-6Mbit/s download speeds and upload speeds of just 1 to 1.5Mbit/s, and was

rightly shunned by disappointed consumers.

WiMAX fails to deliver even 1% of the theoretical peak download speed of the 4G standard created by the ITU-

R. Fortunately, Sprint is phasing out WiMAX support in favour of its new LTE network.

HSPA+

HSPA+ is the pinnacle of current 3G technology, offering a theoretical 168Mbit/s downlink speed. In reality most HSPA+

coverage is only capable of 21Mbit/s, with some areas being upgraded to 42Mbit/s and occasionally even 84Mbit/s. But

even the fastest implementation of HSPA+ is a long way behind the 1Gbit/s download speed required to be considered a

real 4G network. But this hasn’t stopped a number of US carriers from advertising HSPA+ as 4G.

T-Mobile was one of the first companies to falsely advertise its HSPA+ network as 4G, and AT&T followed suit shortly

after. Arguably AT&T is even worse, as its network started out with capabilities peaking at 14.4Mbit/s download and

5.8Mbit/s upload speeds, which is ridiculously slow for a 4G network. Users in the UK, and some other countries, will

probably have noticed that some carriers actually offer HSPA+ as part of their 3G network packages. So it seems that US

consumers are being sold and overcharged to use a slower network under the guise of a next generation technology.

HSPA+ vs. LTE here.

LTE

More recently, carriers have begun to offer LTE options that can theoretically offer a 100 Mbit/s download speed for

mobile devices. Coverage currently varies depending on your carrier and real world data speeds are often nowhere this

theoretical maximum, and are often reported to only be a tad faster than HSPA+.

It takes a long time to upgrade an entire network, but LTE is slowing making its way across the US. Source: US Cellular

To be a little more specific about the other shortcomings of LTE, other than the lack of download speed, it’s also lacking

in uplink spectral efficiency and speed, and it falls short of the true 4G capacity of 3.7 bps/Hz/cell, mainly due to the lack

of carrier aggregation and multi-antenna techniques, which will enable higher speeds. LTE is a stopgap solution before

the real 4G experience reaches us with the rollout of LTE-A.

Carrier marketing

If all these different technologies weren’t confusing enough, carriers have been all too keen to exploit the 4G marketing

term to consumers who are seeking faster data speeds. Other than offering network types which aren’t capable of true

4G speeds, carriers are beginning to offer compromised 4G packages as they transfer their existing networks over to

LTE. Take a look at AT&T’s current 4G marketing, which claims to offer users “fast 4G speeds on both the HSPA+

network and on the LTE network”.

Based on this advertisement, you’d assume that LTE was 2.5 times as fast as HSPA+, but the reality is often

disappointing.

We already know that HSPA+ is not fast enough to be considered true 4G, and the LTE coverage areas are also

surprisingly small. Despite the PR talk, this “smarter” network essentially means that you’ll be dropping down to the

slightly older HSPA+ network when out of range of the LTE network, and the small print even states that 4G speeds

aren’t available everywhere either. That doesn’t sound like anything promised by true 4G or LTE-A.

Fortunately companies openly offer information on their network coverage, so it’s always worth checking out exactly

what coverage and speed you’ll receive in your area before deciding on a 4G contract.

What is WiMAX and How WiMAX Works?

What is WiMAX, how WiMAX works and is it the best option for your wireless internet connection? Get all the

answers about the WiMAX technology in this article.

What is WiMAX?

WiMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a wireless technology for long distances. It is based on

IEEE 802.16 – the family of broadband standards for Wireless MAN – Metropolitan Area Networks. 802.16m standard is

a newer Wireless MAN technology that supports bigger data rates. 802.16m standard is popularly called WiMAX2.

WiMAX, like WiFi is the wireless last mile broadband access.

Wireless MAN is the wireless network that covers larger areas like cities or regions. The name WiMAX was introduced

by a WiMAX Forum – organization formed to promote the WiMAX technology. The WiMAX Forum certifies WiMAX

equipment and ensures the interoperability between different vendors.

WiMAX vs WiMAX2

Name IEEE

family

Downstream

speed

Upstream

speed

Frequency

bandwidth Modulation MIMO Notes

WiMAX 802.16 37 Mbps 17 Mbps 10 MHZ TDD 2×2 MIMO

WiMAX2 802.16m 110 Mbps 70 Mbps 20 MHz TDD 2×2 MIMO Fixed clients

on 1 Gbps

with

multiple

channels

WiMAX2 802.16m 183 Mbps 188 Mbps 2×20 MHz FDD 2×2 MIMO

WiMAX2 802.16m 219 Mbps 140 Mbps 20 MHz TDD 4×4 MIMO

WiMAX2 802.16m 365 Mbps 376 Mbps 2X20 MHz FDD 4×4 MIMO

How WiMAX Works?

WiMAX Components

You know what is WiMAX. But, how WiMAX works? The best way is to start with

the WiMAX components. A WiMAX technology has two parts:

WiMAX tower Photo

courtesy of Intel

WiMAX tower

WiMAX receiver

WiMAX tower

The WiMAX tower works similar to cell phone towers. It can cover the area of 3000 square miles – almost 8000 square

kilometers.

WiMAX receiver

WiMAX receiver

The WiMAX receiver can be a box, PCMCIA – for laptop or PCI – for desktop card. There are also

laptops with the built-in WiMAX receiver.

Two Kinds of the WiMAX Service

There are two kinds of WiMAX services:

Non-line-of-sight – NLOS WiMAX services

Line-of-sight – LOS WiMAX services

NLOS WiMAX Services

The non-line-of-sight service is similar as WiFi. NLOS WiMAX works on lower frequencies – 2 GHz to 11 GHz. The lower

frequency spectrum doesn’t have problems with physical obstructions and atmospheric conditions. The range is about

25 square miles or about 65 square kilometers.

More about the WiFi you could read on what does WiFi stand for.

LOS WiMAX Services

With the line-of-sight service there is a fixed outside dish antenna which points directly to the WiMAX tower. The LOS

WiMAX service uses higher frequency range from 10 to 66 GHz. Here there are higher speeds and less interference. The

range could be 2800 square miles or 9300 square kilometers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of WiMAX

Advantages of WiMAX Technology

WiMAX technology provides the following advantages:

Long range access

Symmetrical bandwidth over long range

A single WiMAX station can serve hundreds of users

It works on an unlicensed frequency spectrum

Disadvantages of WiMAX Technology

The disadvantages of WiMAX technology are:

Spectral limitation

Poor bandwidth when serving lots of clients

High cost – both for installation and operation

Unreliable service

Weather conditions like rain can have a big impact on the service

Big delay

Line-of-sight is needed for longer distances

Interference with other wireless signals

It has a big power consumption

Multiple frequencies are used for WiMAX deployment

The Overview of WiMAX Technology and its Usage

WiMAX Technology

WiMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a wireless technology. It supports transmission speeds

up to 40 Mbps. With the update 2011, the maximum speeds are even up to 1 Gbps for fixed stations. WiMAX enables

the last mile wireless broadband access and serves as an alternative for the fixed broadband technologies like cable, DSL

and optical fiber.

IEEE 802.16 is a family of Broadband standards for Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks. Official name of the 802.16

family is Wireless MAN, but it is more known for under the name WiMAX.

If you are interested to find out more about the family of Wireless MAN standards, you could read article 802.16 –

Standard for Wireless MAN or WiMAX Network.

More about the other types of wireless technologies you could read on How Does Wireless Internet Work.

You could also find the name for WiMAX – WiFi on steroids. To check more about the WiFi read what is WiFi.

The Usage of WiMAX

Is the WiMAX technology the right choice for you? When you take in consideration disadvantages of WiMAX, but also

advantages of this Wireless MAN technology, WiMAX is the right choice for the following cases:

Offering broadband wireless internet access in the remote places without DSL, cable, fiber optic access.

Enabling portable wireless broadband connection between cities and even countries.

Wireless backhaul technology for 2G, 3G and 4G cellular networks.