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LTE Categories
You may have heard the term “Cat” before when it comes to Ethernet cables (e.g. Cat 5, Cat 6), but what about when someone is talking about cellular? “Cat” refers to the category of a 4G LTE modem (5G does NOT use categories). 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a cellular technology in which both voice and data service can operate.
Categories are used to define the performance specs of the LTE device. They range from 1 to 22 and differ with regards to the frequency band support as well as the upload and download speeds they are capable of running. For example, Cat 1 modems can download at up to 10 Mbps (megabits), while Cat 22 modems are going to receive download speeds of up to 4 Gbps (gigabits).
LTE Category 15, also known as LTE Cat 15, is a mobile network standard that is capable of achieving download speeds of up to 800 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 226 Mbps. It is one of the highest categories of LTE currently available.
LTE Cat 15 achieves these speeds by using advanced carrier aggregation techniques, which allow multiple LTE frequency bands to be used simultaneously to increase data transfer rates. It also uses 256 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), a modulation scheme that allows more data to be transmitted per unit of time, further boosting data rates.
LTE Cat 15 is commonly used in high-end smartphones and other mobile devices that require fast download and upload speeds for activities such as streaming video, online gaming, and downloading large files. However, the actual data rates that users can achieve depend on a variety of factors, including network coverage, signal strength, and device capabilities.
|
LTE Category |
Max Download Speed |
Max Upload Speed |
|
10 Mbps |
5 Mbps |
|
|
100 Mbps |
50 Mbps |
|
|
150 Mbps |
50 Mbps |
|
|
300 Mbps |
50 Mbps |
|
|
300 Mbps |
100 Mbps |
|
|
600 Mbps |
75 Mbps |
|
|
600 Mbps |
100 Mbps |
|
|
Cat 15 |
800 Mbps |
226 Mbps |
|
1200 Mbps |
300 Mbps |
|
|
2000 Mbps |
300 Mbps |
|
|
4000 Mbps |
450 Mbps |
Download speeds for Cat 15 are typically between 750 and 800Mbps. Upload speeds are up to 150Mbps.
Mobile broadband devices such as smartphones, tablets,
PCs, and mobile hotspots. Fixed wireless devices such as CPEs, home broadband, and routers. Also Industrial IoT.
Qualcomm x62 modules support Cat 15, also called the Snapdragon x62.
