4G (LTE) vs. 5G (NR)
Comparing 2 standards across 16 specifications. 16 key differences identified.
4G (Long Term Evolution / LTE-Advanced) is an all-IP cellular architecture standardized under 3GPP Releases 8 through 14. Abandoning CDMA in favor of Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Carrier Aggregation, and 4x4 MIMO, it provides data rates from 150 Mbps (Cat 4) to over 1.2 Gbps (Cat 18 Gigabit LTE) with VoLTE voice.
5G New Radio (5G NR) is the global 3GPP standard (Releases 15–18) for fifth-generation cellular communications. Operating across Sub-6 GHz (FR1) and Millimeter Wave (FR2: 24–71 GHz) frequency bands, it introduces flexible numerology, Massive MIMO beamforming, and network slicing to deliver enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC), and massive IoT (mMTC).
Specification Comparison Table
16 Parameters| Parameter / Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standardization Body
|
3GPP (Rel-8 LTE to Rel-10/13 LTE-Advanced Pro) / ITU IMT-Advanced | — |
|
Commercial Launch Year
|
2009 (TeliaSonera Stockholm/Oslo) | — |
|
Downlink Air Interface
|
OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) | — |
|
Uplink Air Interface
|
SC-FDMA (Single-Carrier FDMA for lower mobile PA power) | — |
|
Scalable Channel Bandwidths
|
1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz per component carrier | — |
|
Carrier Aggregation (LTE-A)
|
Up to 5 carriers (100 MHz total aggregated bandwidth) | — |
|
Peak Category Speeds
|
Cat 4 (150 Mbps), Cat 6 (300 Mbps), Cat 16 (1 Gbps), Cat 18 (1.2 Gbps) | — |
|
Voice Protocol
|
VoLTE (Voice over LTE / IMS–IP Multimedia Subsystem) | — |
|
Standardization Framework
|
— | 3GPP Rel-15 (2018), Rel-16 (2020), Rel-17 (2022), Rel-18 5G-Advanced |
|
Frequency Range 1 (FR1 Sub-6)
|
— | 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz (Channels up to 100 MHz) |
|
Frequency Range 2 (FR2 mmWave)
|
— | 24.25 GHz to 71.0 GHz (Channels up to 400 MHz) |
|
Peak Theoretical Speeds
|
— | Up to 20 Gbps Downlink / 10 Gbps Uplink |
|
Radio Access Latency (URLLC)
|
— | < 1 ms (over the air) |
|
Deployment Modes
|
— | Non-Standalone (NSA–with 4G LTE anchor) and Standalone (SA–pure 5G Core) |
|
Antenna Technology
|
— | Massive MIMO (32T32R, 64T64R) with 3D Digital Beamforming |
|
Core Architecture
|
— | 5G Core (5GC) Service-Based Architecture (SBA) with Network Slicing |