Do you remember the last time you didn’t use your phone? I'm aware. It is practically impossible for us to imagine life without data connectivity, as we probably pick our smartphones up, over a hundred times each day for texting, calls and sharing our lives with our friends. For such instances, when we want to stay connected, nothing can be as irritating as bad or slow connectivity. With the onset of 4G technology from providers such as Airtel, that problem has become much less frequent.

With hours of our daily life revolving around the internet, making it one of the most revolutionary shifts of recent years, ever wondered how it actually works, and what all the lingo around it actually means?

Let’s help you out.

4G stands for the 4th generation of cellular network technology and is the latest and fastest type of network available in India. 4G has a bunch of improvements over 3G, which specifically include upgrades around speed and connectivity for the consumer, something Airtel 4G users can vouch for. To be qualified as 4G, a system must fulfil the requirements set by the International Telecommunication Union’s global standard called International Mobile Communications-Advanced. Satisfaction of these criteria makes them eligible to mark their network as 4G. These include:

*All-IP packet switched network
*Data rates up to 100 Mbps for high mobility and up to 1 Gbps for low mobility
*Seamless connectivity and global roaming
*Interoperability with existing wireless standards
*Smooth handovers
*High QoS

However, it needs to be noted that any speed mentioned as requirements are theoretical max speeds, which realistically will be much lower. Another key component is the non-backward compatible nature of the transmission technology. With each generation, there has been a monumental jump in the kind and quantity of data it can process and transfer. Back in the day, 1G was strictly an analogue system, which moved to digital transmission with 2G. 3G added multi-media support and with 4G, we got a much more robust network in terms of speed and stability, while making the move to packet-switched networks.

Moving on, we get 4G LTE, which is often used interchangeably with 4G but is, in fact, a type of 4G which generally implies faster wireless broadband connections. 4G has a strict definition that set by the ITU-R, which telcos found difficult to achieve. LTE is one of the paths followed to achieve 4G speeds and exhibits a significant step up from 3G speeds. Similarly, LTE-Advanced is an incremental upgrade over LTE getting you closer to the actual specified 4G speeds with increased stability.

This also involves the use of MIMO which is a radio transmission. Standing for multiple-input and multiple-output, MIMO uses multiple antennas for transmission and receiving to enable multipath propagation. Not only smartphones, but even wifi routers are now adopting MIMO for better coverage. Airtel was the first network in India to deploy Massive MIMO, making for better customer experience.

It’s not just data speeds that are benefitted with LTE, as even calls can be made over an LTE network, usually termed as VoLTE (Voice over LTE). Since LTE can carry a lot more data than older 3G networks, you can expect superior call qualities, better coverage in indoor areas.

Till a few years ago, you would need to check if your phone supports 4G connectivity, i.e. if it has the necessary hardware like a modem to be able to communicate over 4G frequencies. But now most phones come with the hardware included, even those with dual-SIM cards.

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