The LTE air interface is a completely new system based on orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) in the downlink and single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) in the uplink. The system efficiently supports multi-antenna technologies (MIMO). OFDMA is considered much better at handling the varying propagation conditions seen in mobile radio. This is similar to WiMAX. In MIMO techniques, either multiple antennas can transmit the same data stream to improve data-transmission reliability or different antennas can transmit different data streams simultaneously to increase throughput.
Another significant feature of LTE is its high bandwidth—up to 20 MHz. Because the usable bandwidth is scalable, LTE can also operate in the existing 5-MHz UMTS frequency bands, or in even smaller bands.
LTE standard is progressing as a part of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The Evolved Packet System (EPS) standardized by 3GPP is divided into a radio access network known as the E-UTRAN and a core network known as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The E-UTRAN consists of eNodeBs, which provide the radio interface toward the user equipment. The eNodeBs are interconnected with each other via the IP-based X2 interface and toward the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) via the IP-based S1 interfaces – see the architecture depicted in the main diagram.
GL’s LTE analyzer is capable of capturing, decoding and performing various test measurements across various interfaces i.e. S1, S3, S4, S5 (or S8), S6a, S10, S11, S13 and X2 interfaces of the LTE network.