4G / LTE

LTE began with a question: could the next mobile generation evolve rather than start again? Follow the workshops, technical proposals and international cooperation behind a new approach to mobile broadband.

The story and the decisions

Shaping the 4G Revolution

Original OFDM integration in UTRAN illustration

From cautious ambitions in Helsinki to proposals for a new radio interface, trace the workshops that shaped LTE. Stephen Temple’s preliminary account follows the ideas through the public documents.

LTE technology and handsets

Samsung SCH-r900 · 2010

From standards to a working handset: the original collection identifies the SCH-r900 on MetroPCS as the first LTE mobile introduced into service. Examine this early LTE/CDMA phone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 S-LTE · 2015

Carrier aggregation combined spectrum across bands to raise LTE data rates. Explore the Note 4 S-LTE and the collection’s account of the disputed launch claim.