LTE Frequency Bands, Spectrum & Channels

There are many frequency bands allocated to accommodate available spectrum in different countries for LTE (FDD & TDD) which are numbered and have defined limits. Radio channel numbers are also allocated.


4G LTE includes:
What is LTE     LTE OFDMA / SCFDMA     MIMO     LTE Duplex     LTE frame & subframe     LTE data channels     LTE frequency bands     LTE EARFCN     UE categories / classes     LTE-M (Machine to Machine)     LTE-LAA / LTE-U     VoLTE     SRVCC    

LTE Advanced topics:     LTE Advanced introduction     Carrier aggregation     Coordinated multipoint     LTE relay     Device to device, D2D    


There are very many different LTE frequency bands which have been allocated around the globe.

As different countries have different areas of available spectrum it has not been possible to have a high level of coordination from one country to the next and this has issues with roaming and the number of bans needed for handsets.

Each frequency band is allocated a number so it can be defined easily and its limits known.

The LTE radio channels are also allocated numbers - these can be calculated from a simple defined formula. By having defined radio channels, they can be coordinated globally to facilitate roaming.

LTE bands for FDD & TDD

The spectrum requirements and hence the frequency band allocations for LTE are different for FDD and TDD.

  • FDD LTE bands:   FDD spectrum requires pair bands, one of the uplink and one for the downlink. It is also important that there is sufficient spacing between the top of the lower band and the bottom of the upper band to allow sufficient filtering. Also the uplink to downlink channel spacing must be sufficient to allow sufficient filtering to prevent the transmitted signal from entering he receiver and desensitising it.
  • TDD LTE bands :   TDD transmissions only require a single band and in this way paired spectrum is not needed.

The different LTE frequency allocations or LTE frequency bands are allocated numbers. Currently the LTE bands between 1 & 22 are for paired spectrum, i.e. FDD, and LTE bands between 33 & 41 are for unpaired spectrum, i.e. TDD.

FDD LTE frequency band allocations

There is a large number of allocations or radio spectrum that has been reserved for FDD, frequency division duplex, LTE use.

Definitions of parameters used in defining the LTE bands.
LTE frequency band definitions

The FDD LTE frequency bands are paired to allow simultaneous transmission on two frequencies. The bands also have a sufficient separation to enable the transmitted signals not to unduly impair the receiver performance. If the signals are too close then the receiver may be "blocked" and the sensitivity impaired. The separation must be sufficient to enable the roll-off of the antenna filtering to give sufficient attenuation of the transmitted signal within the receive band.


FDD LTE Bands & Frequencies
 
LTE Band
Number
Uplink
(MHz)
Downlink
(MHz)
Width of Band (MHz) Duplex Spacing (MHz) Band Gap (MHz)
1 1920 - 1980 2110 - 2170 60 190 130
2 1850 - 1910 1930 - 1990 60 80 20
3 1710 - 1785 1805 -1880 75 95 20
4 1710 - 1755 2110 - 2155 45 400 355
5 824 - 849 869 - 894 25 45 20
6 830 - 840 875 - 885 10 35 25
7 2500 - 2570 2620 - 2690 70 120 50
8 880 - 915 925 - 960 35 45 10
9 1749.9 - 1784.9 1844.9 - 1879.9 35 95 60
10 1710 - 1770 2110 - 2170 60 400 340
11 1427.9 - 1452.9 1475.9 - 1500.9 20 48 28
12 698 - 716 728 - 746 18 30 12
13 777 - 787 746 - 756 10 -31 41
14 788 - 798 758 - 768 10 -30 40
15 1900 - 1920 2600 - 2620 20 700 680
16 2010 - 2025 2585 - 2600 15 575 560
17 704 - 716 734 - 746 12 30 18
18 815 - 830 860 - 875 15 45 30
19 830 - 845 875 - 890 15 45 30
20 832 - 862 791 - 821 30 -41 71
21 1447.9 - 1462.9 1495.5 - 1510.9 15 48 33
22 3410 - 3500 3510 - 3600 90 100 10
23 2000 - 2020 2180 - 2200 20 180 160
24 1625.5 - 1660.5 1525 - 1559 34 -101.5 135.5
25 1850 - 1915 1930 - 1995 65 80 15
26 814 - 849 859 - 894 30 / 40 10
27 807 - 824 852 - 869 17 45 28
28 703 - 748 758 - 803 45 55 10
29 n/a 717 - 728 11
30 2305 - 2315 2350 - 2360 10 45 35
31 452.5 - 457.5 462.5 - 467.5 5 10 5
32 DL CA Only 1452 - 1496 44 N/A N/A
65 1920 - 2100 2120 - 2200 90 190 20
66 1710 - 1780 2110 - 2200 90 400 330
67 DL CA Only 738 - 758 20 N/A N/A
68 698 - 728 753 - 783 30 55 25
69 DL CA Only 2570 - 2620 50 N/A N/A
70 1695 - 1710 1995 - 2020 25 295 285
71 663 - 698 617 - 652 35 -46 11
252 DL CA Only 5150 - 5250 100 N/A N/A
255 DL CA Only 5725 - 5850 125 N/A N/A

Notes:
    bands 15 and 16 are now obsolete
    DL CA Only refers to bands that are used for downlink carrier aggregation only
    Bands 252 and 255 use the unlicensed spectrum and used with LTE-LAA / LTE-U.

. . . . Additional . . . . LTE frequency bands information.

TDD LTE frequency band allocations

With the interest in TDD LTE, there are several unpaired frequency allocations that are being prepared for LTR TDD use. The TDD LTE bands are unpaired because the uplink and downlink share the same frequency, being time multiplexed.


TDD LTE Bands & Frequencies
 
LTE Band
Number
Allocation (MHz) Width of Band (MHz)
33 1900 - 1920 20
34 2010 - 2025 15
35 1850 - 1910 60
36 1930 - 1990 60
37 1910 - 1930 20
38 2570 - 2620 50
39 1880 - 1920 40
40 2300 - 2400 100
41 2496 - 2690 194
42 3400 - 3600 200
43 3600 - 3800 200
44 703 - 803 100
45 1447 - 1467 20
46 5150 - 5925 775
47 5855 - 5925 70

There are regular additions to the LTE frequency bands / LTE spectrum allocations as a result of negotiations at the ITU regulatory meetings. These LTE allocations are resulting in part from the digital dividend, and also from the pressure caused by the ever growing need for mobile communications. Many of the new LTE spectrum allocations are relatively small, often 10 - 20MHz in bandwidth, and this is a cause for concern. With LTE-Advanced needing bandwidths of 100 MHz, channel aggregation over a wide set of frequencies many be needed, and this has been recognised as a significant technological problem. . . . . . . . .

. . . . Additional . . . . LTE frequency bands information.

LTE radio channel bandwidths

LTE supports different channel bandwidths and as a result a different number of resource blocks can be supported.

For all the channel bandwidths except 1.4 MHz, the resource blocks in the transmission bandwidth fill up 90% of the channel bandwidth.


Radio Channel Bandwidths Specified in LTE
Channel Bandwidth Number of Resource Blocks
1.4 MHz 6
3 MHz 15
5 MHz 25
10 MHz 50
15 MHz 75
20 MHz 100

The LTE bands have proliferated around the globe. This has resulted from the very fragmented amounts of spectrum that have been available. This has made the design of handsets for roaming more difficult as filters need to ensure that out of band products are sufficiently reduced, but having banks of filters to accommodate the huge variety of bands is difficult.

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