4G
4G is known as the fourth Generation of Mobile Communication or wireless communication
technology, which is the successor of the 3G network.
It provides high data transmission speed and is suitable for HD video calling, fast download and
upload, live streaming, online gaming, etc.
4G network provides up to 100 Mbps speed to users, far higher than a 3G network.
4G enables users to stream high-definition audio and videos without interruption due to its high
speed.
Features of 4G Mobile Network
It aims to provide high data transmission speed without interruption at any location.
As per ITU standard, a 4G network system must have the highest data rates of 100Mbs for
highly mobile stations like trains, cars etc.
It provides seamless switching across heterogenous network areas.
It is very well suitable for the transmission of voice, data, signals, multimedia, wireless internet,
and other broadband services.
It provides high speed at a low cost.
Global mobility, service portability, scalable mobile networks.
It provides a better way for scheduling and calling admission control techniques.
Advantages of 4G
With a 4G connection, users don't need any phone line or wired connection. Instead, it works
using the same internet connection as the mobile phone.
4G provides portability, which means with this connection, users can take the internet anywhere
at any time.
With 4G, the cost of internet services has fallen down highly compared to 3G. Hence, it gives
high-speed internet at less cost.
Nowadays, everything is being hosted online, and hence users require high internet to work with
cloud services, and it is possible with 4G (and upcoming 5G) connections.
Disadvantages of 4G
It depends on the network signal; if the signal gets weaker, then the user experiences slow and
unstable services.
It needs more battery consumption.
Architecture:
The network architecture of 4G LTE is comprised of following three main components:
The User Equipment (UE).
The Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).
The Evolved Packet Core (EPC).
The User Equipment (UE)
The internal architecture of the user equipment for 4G LTE is identical to the one used by UMTS and
GSM which is actually a Mobile Equipment (ME). The mobile equipment comprised of the following
important modules:
Mobile Termination (MT) : This handles all the communication functions.
Terminal Equipment (TE) : This terminates the data streams.
Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) : This is also known as the SIM card for LTE
equipments. It runs an application known as the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM).
The E-UTRAN (The access network)
The E-UTRAN handles the radio communications between the mobile and the evolved packet core and
just has one component, the evolved base stations, called eNodeB or eNB. Each eNB is a base station
that controls the mobiles in one or more cells. The base station that is communicating with a mobile is
known as its serving eNB.
4G LTE Mobile communicates with just one base station and one cell at a time and there are following
two main functions supported by eNB:
The eBN sends and receives radio transmissions to all the mobiles using the analogue and digital
signal processing functions of the LTE air interface.
The eNB controls the low-level operation of all its mobiles, by sending them signalling messages
such as handover commands.
The Evolved Packet Core (EPC) (The core network)
The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) component has been carried forward from UMTS and GSM
and is a central database that contains information about all the network operator's subscribers.
The Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) communicates with the outside world ie.
packet data networks PDN, using interface. Each packet data network is identified by an access
point name (APN).
The serving gateway (S-GW) acts as a router, and forwards data between the base station and the
PDN gateway.
The mobility management entity (MME) controls the high-level operation of the mobile by
means of signalling messages and Home Subscriber Server (HSS).
The Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) is a component of PCF and it is
responsible for policy control decision-making, as well as for controlling the flow-based charging
functionalities in the P-GW.
