Difference Between TELUS 4G and 4G+ LTE

TELUS 4G vs 4G+ LTE

TELUS 4G is a wireless network service provider based on Canada, which uses HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access) technique with dual carrier implementation. TELUS 4G+ LTE is a next step of  TELUS service provider based on Forth Generation Long Term Evolution networks. Even though, both can be commercialized as 4th generation networks, as per the USA standardizations there is a clear air interface difference between HSPA+ and LTE technologies.

TELUS 4G

TELUS is Canadian wireless network service provider that operates with dual carrier HSPA+ network. TELUS launched 4G technologies in 2009 with maximum speed of 21Mbps, which is achievable using HSPA+ technology. Then they upgraded the network to support maximum downlink speed of 42Mbps, which was launched in 2011. 42Mpbs can be achieved with HSPA+ with dual carrier support. As per the TELUS website, average download speed is around 7 to 14Mbps, while the network peak download speed is 42Mbps. TELUS is planning to launch 4G+ with LTE technology in the near future. As per the current network maximum uplink speed is 5.76Mbps. It should also be noted that Internet access speed provided by the network operator may vary due to number of factors such as the device being used, network congestion, distance from the cell site, local conditions etc. TELUS HSPA+ technology covers around 97% of the population in Canada. TELUS uses 1900MHz and 850MHz frequency bands as per the 3GPP specification for their HSPA+ network. Since TELUS operates with dual carrier technology they have separate data and voice channels, which also helps to improve the network and increase the capacity.

TELUS 4G+LTE

4G+ LTE is the next generation mobile network that was already planned by TELUS to deploy  in early 2012. The first LTE release was done by 3GPP in December 2008, while studies of LTE were started in early 2005. TELUS 4G+ LTE support up to a peak of 150Mbps downlink and 75Mbps uplink speed. LTE downlink uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) with 64 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) techniques to achieve high spectral efficiency, while LTE uplink uses DFTS-OFDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) and 64 QAM technique. Downlink spectral efficiency is further improved by LTE using advanced techniques such as frequency domain channel dependent scheduling and Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna techniques. Basic intension of LTE was flat architecture, which was achieved usinge Node-B, System Architecture Evolution Gateway (SAE-GW) and Mobile Management Entity (MME). eNode-B connects with both MME and with SAE-GW for control plane data transfer (Signalling) and for user plane data transfer (user data) respectively. Due to this simple architecture only node in E-UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) is E-NodeB which facilitates communication between E-NodeB’s directly. This architecture allows only required user data to be routed via core, while other data directly routed from eNode-B via optimum path. TELUS 4G+ LTE uses Advanced Wireless Spectrum (AWS) that covers 1700/2100MHz spectrum. Initial plan of TELUS is to deploy 4G+ LTE on the urban town centers and after the auction of 700MHz spectrum, which provides much longer penetration , TELUS plans to expand the coverage into rural areas.

What is the difference between TELUS 4G and TELUS 4G+ LTE?

TELUS 4G is implementation of 4G as per the Canadian wireless service provider using HSPA+, while TELUS 4G+ LTE is the next generation network of the same service provider that will provide higher data rates than existing network. Currently TELUS 4G operates with HSPA+ with dual carrier to achieve high data rates, while 4G+ LTE is planned to be deployed in early 2012. 4G+ LTE is 3GPP release 8 standard, which was initially introduced as the 4G standard, while HSPA+ is an improvement of 3G standards (3GPP release 6 and 7) that can support averagely high data rates as with LTE.

HSPA+ and LTE have considerable architectural changes as well. LTE support more flat architecture with improvements only focused on packet switched services, while HSPA+ supports both packet switch and circuit switched domains using SGSN/GGSN and MSC-S/MGwbased core architecture.

Since TELUS 4G for the moment is HSPA+, they have a number of device support options when compared with the LTE based 4G+ network devices because the availability of devices that support LTE is not as common as with HSPA+ supported devices. This is simply because of the differences in the air interface. HSPA+ technique was introduced by improving the available 3rd generation techniques, which have backward compatibility, while 4G was based on the new air interface techniques that allow more spectral efficiency.

TELUS 4G+ LTE can support up to 150Mbps downlink and 75Mbps uplink as per the 3GPP specification, while TELUS 4G only support up to 42Mbps downlink and 5.76Mbps uplink due to the differences and limitations in the technologies.

TELUS 4G+ LTE is more efficient and optimized technique than the current TELUS 4G technique, which is generally known as HSPA+.

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