What is the difference between 4G and LTE?

[John Connor]

I read about 4G and LTE but it seems like it's the same thing what exactly is the difference between the two?

 

[QuietDad]

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/mobile-phone/whats-difference-between-4g-lte-3605656/

 

[John Connor]

Okay. so LTE is a first-generation 4G.

My phone often gets LTE, but I do see 4G.

 

[A5]

"4G" as used in the US is a marketing term to encompass a number of technologies, ranging from HSPA+ to WiMax to full-on LTE-A. There are stricter definitions used by groups like the ITU (who say only LTE-A is "true" 4G and classify plain LTE as "3.9G"), but that isn't binding. All the major phone OSes follow the carriers' marketing, not the ITU definition.

LTE (and LTE-Advanced) are standards put out by the 3GPP that are widely deployed for wireless access as successors to HSPA.

 

[John Connor]

This is all just so confusing. I just want to know that when my phone goes to 4G or LTE I would like to know which is better? I have Cricket which uses AT&T.

 

[fralexandr]

http://www.androidauthority.com/4g-vs-lte-274882/
jpg says for AT&T:
4G LTE up to 10x faster than 3G/HSPA
4G HSPA+ up to 4x faster than 3G/HSPA

https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1000812

4G LTE devices

4G LTE - Connected to the AT&T 4G LTE network1.
4G - Connected to the AT&T HSPA+ network.
3G - Connected to the AT&T 3G HSPA network.
E - Connected to the AT&T 2G/EDGE network.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_(telecommunication)

 

[Puffnstuff]

Sprint just phased out WiMAX last month and is implementing extended 4g lte. 4g lte is theoretically good for up to 140 mbps if you hold your mouth just right otherwise YMMV. I have to be really close to a tower with full bars to get really fast throughput otherwise it slows down considerably.

 

[John Connor]

Okay, I guess I should have seen this. Click LTE and 4G. Looks like LTE is faster. https://www.cricketwireless.com/map.html

 

[slashbinslashbash]

On AT&T, LTE is faster than 4G. However, this can change depending upon A) congestion and B) your exact location.

A) If the LTE bandwidth is overloaded on a particular tower (i.e. there are a lot of people in the vicinity using LTE) then switching over to 4G can actually result in a faster/more usable connection.

B) HSPA+ and LTE use different frequencies. One or the other can be more susceptible to interference, e.g. in large buildings, in elevators, etc.

Sometimes if LTE isn't working well (web pages taking a long time to load, etc.) then I turn it off and drop down to "4G" which gives me a better experience.