LTE Frequency Bands & Spectrum Allocations

There are very many frequency bands used for LTE TDD and FDD versions. The spectrum allocated for LTE varies around the world and as a result there many LTE bands and frequency allocations.

mber of LTE frequency bands that are being designated as possibilities for use with LTE. Many of the LTE frequency bands are already in use for other cellular systems, whereas other LTE bands are new and being introduced as other users are re-allocated spectrum elsewhere.

FDD and TDD LTE frequency bands

FDD spectrum requires pair bands, one of the uplink and one for the downlink, and TDD requires a single band as uplink and downlink are on the same frequency but time separated. As a result, there are different LTE band allocations for TDD and FDD. In some cases these bands may overlap, and it is therefore feasible, although unlikely that both TDD and FDD transmissions could be present on a particular LTE frequency band.

The greater likelihood is that a single UE or mobile will need to detect whether a TDD or FDD transmission should be made on a given band. UEs that roam may encounter both types on the same band. They will therefore need to detect what type of transmission is being made on that particular LTE band in its current location.

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.

LTE frequency band definitions

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.

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

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

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. . . . . . . . .