Currently the highest possible LTE speed in the Swisscom network

I would be interested to know what maximum speed is currently possible under optimal conditions in the Swisscom (LTE/4G) network.

LTE is currently being expanded and optimized by all providers and will continue to be expanded and optimized in the near future despite 5G.

With 5G, it is clear to me that theoretically you could achieve 1 Gbit with 5G-DSS, and 2 Gbit with real 5G+ under perfect conditions. And in later years it should go up to 10 Gbit.

The Swisscom website says the following about 4G:

4G+/LTE Advanced enables a theoretical bandwidth of up to 700 Mbit/s over the mobile network. Today, 90% of the Swiss population is already served with speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s and 72% can already use speeds of up to 500 Mbit/s.

4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution)

_________________________ __________\ _________________________\ ___________

At the same time, you can read about the ongoing expansion of Gigabit LTE at this link from 2017.

[https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/news/2017/12/20171220-mm-gigabit-tempo-im-mobilfunknetz-von-swisscom.html#:~:text=The%20Gigabit technology, and%20der%20Modulation%20256QAM%20added] (https://www.swisscom.ch/de/about/news/2017/12/20171220-mm-gigabit-tempo-im-mobilfunknetz-von-swisscom.html#:~:text=Die%20Gigabit-Technik, and%20der%20Modulation%20256QAM%20added).

That’s now almost 7 years since the start of the gigabit expansion. And so Gigabit LTE should actually be standard at Swisscom today, at least in some places, to be precise under optimal conditions.

On the website as mentioned above it says max. 700 Mbits theoretically, but possible max. 500 Mbits in some parts of Switzerland.

Why haven’t we moved on here? What information is really correct?

Thank you and LG

radio fox

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  • NilsL has responded to this post.

    @NilsL

    OK. Sorry. Anyone who can read…
    Sure, of course it’s via 5G.

    Wherever I move, 5G is usually available.
    If only LTE is available, it falls

    Most of the time I don’t even notice it.

    Show original language (German)

    #user63

    It all depends on the bands and MIMO used.

    In Switzerland, 4×4 MIMO cannot be used properly due to the low limit values, but for the most part only 2×2 MIMO. 4×4 MIMO is twice as fast as 2×2 MIMO! One more reason to raise the limits.

    I’m assuming the following configuration:
    LTE Band 1 - 20 MHz

    LTE Band 3 - 20 MHz

    LTE Band 7 - 20 MHz

    LTE band 20 - 10MHz

    LTE Band 32 - 20MHz

    I once saw this LTE-CA combination in the wild at Swisscom, so it’s realistic.

    With 4G Theoretical Throughput Calculator (pedroc.co.uk) you can calculate the theoretical LTE speed.

    With 256QAM modulation (strong signal / optimal conditions) you can theoretically achieve 881Mbit/s with the above config.

    With 4×4 MIMO on LTE B1, B3 & B7 you would even achieve 1468MBit/s.

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    Which smartphone has already installed 4 mobile phone antennas for transmitting and receiving on the identical mobile phone frequency band? 4×4 MIMO requires 4 cellular antennas in the cell phone housing! I would rather describe such a huge smartphone as a “tablet”.

    … the mobile phone antenna must also support 4×4 MIMO. And if even for new antenna locations such as:

    [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/5G-Antenne-in-Eichberg/m-p/833903#M15466](https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/5G-Antenne-in- Eichberg/m-p/833903#M15466)

    (probably) older wireless hardware is used, 4×4 MIMO will not arrive for a decade at the earliest, if at all.

    No, 4×4 MIMO and the modulations:

    - QAM-256 in the downlink (transmission direction from mobile phone antenna to mobile phone)

    - QAM-64 in the uplink (transmission direction from the cell phone to the cell phone antenna)

    belong more in the marketing department than in everyday mobile communications. When calculating the realistic values:

    - 2×2 MIMO

    - 64QAM in the downlink

    - 16QAM in the uplink

    use. This website also offers such an online calculator:

    https://www.cellmapper.net/4G-speed

    The mobile phone frequency bands that can be used with a Swisscom SIM card and their bandwidth can be found on Wikipedia:

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobilfunkfrequencies_in_der_Switzerland

    An overview of all possible bundling of mobile frequency bands (Carrier Aggregation => CA) is provided by:

    https://www.sqimway.com/lte_ca_band.php

    https://www.sqimway.com/nr_ca.php

    And please don’t lose your footing: What can actually be achieved in practice, where and how the data transfer rate in the mobile network is limited, is what I last explained in detail at:

    [https://www.lancom-forum.de/fragen-zu-lancom-umts-lte-router-f33/750-5g-auf-grostreffen-erlebnisen-t20646.html](https://www.lancom- forum.de/fragen-zu-lancom-umts-lte-router-f33/750-5g-auf-grostreffen-erlebnisen-t20646.html)

    described.

    Have fun calculating the theoretically possible maximum data transfer rates!

    Show original language (German)

    But I have to get in there. 4×4 MIMO is not supported on all bands, only on high ones (>1800MHz).

    Support for end devices has been available for a long time. Samsung has supported 4×4 MIMO since the Galaxy S8! [Samsung Galaxy S8 supports MIMO 4×4 and LTE up to 1 Gbps - Ping Test News (ping-test.net)](https://ping-test.net/news/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s8-mimo-4x4- lte-1-gbps/)

    On the transmitter side the antenna must be newer, that’s true. However, 4×4 MIMO is almost always included in modern multiband antennas. No old antennas were installed in the antenna in Eichberg, but the location data sheet is “outdated”. According to this article, the first 4×4 MIMO-capable antennas have been around since around 2016. [4×4 MIMO Boosts 4G and Gives Consumers a Taste of the Gigabit Experience (huawei.com)](https://www-file.huawei.com/ -/media/corporate/pdf/mbb/2020/4×4-mimo.pdf)

    256QAM needs a good signal. The author asked for the highest speed in optimal conditions. Under normal conditions, 64QAM is more realistic.

    Show original language (German)

    Yes, yes, higher and faster, further…

    … The main thing is that electronic waste ends up on Africa’s coast in even larger quantities!

    If you are so keen on the theoretical maximum data transfer rate in the mobile network, then contact Swisscom and let Herdern show you the 5G standalone (SA) under optimal radio reception conditions in the Swisscom laboratory in Zurich. In the laboratory, the technicians from Swisscom and Ericsson are sure to conjure up a super-duper-fast mobile phone with 4×4 MIMO and QAM-4096 from their black top hat.

    https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/5G-Standalone/m-p/830834#M15332

    The fact that the battery runs out 4x faster with 4×4 MIMO doesn’t matter anyway…

    And so that the battery runs out even more quickly, you dutifully increase the maximum permissible transmission power…

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    funkfuchs I just took out my old cell phone (Honor View20, only has 4G+ but WITHOUT carrier aggregation, I have no idea how that works, mine is always 4G+ = LTE CA, by the way the best cell phone I’ve ever had, if anything newer If it were running Android 10 then I would definitely still use it)

    On it I managed 276 Mbit/s over Wingo 4G, according to the speed test location in a village in the Wynental area, actually very rural but was probably right next to an antenna

    As far as I remember, I managed 350 Mbit/s on my OnePlus Nord with Wingo but without the 5G option, but I no longer have the cell phone

    On my current Honor 90 I always had the 5G option active

    Screenshot_20240816_221137_org.zwanoo.android.speedtest.jpg

    Show original language (German)

      @NilsL wrote:

      @funkfuchs I just took out my old cell phone (Honor View20, only has 4G+ but WITHOUT carrier aggregation, I have no idea how that works, mine is always 4G+ = LTE CA, by the way the best cell phone I’ve ever had, If it ran something newer than Android 10 then I would definitely still use it)

      On it I managed 276 Mbit/s over Wingo 4G, according to the speed test location in a village in the Wynental area, actually very rural but was probably right next to an antenna

      As far as I remember, I managed 350 Mbit/s on my OnePlus Nord with Wingo but without the 5G option, but I no longer have the cell phone

      On my current Honor 90 I always had the 5G option active

      Ah @NilsL

      Why are we talking about LTE 4G?

      Water into the Aare…

      If you can or only want to use 4G, you should…

      Everything else is just discussion without any real meaning.

      IMO

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      #user63

      @Herby Because the title of the discussion says “… LTE speed…”

      No, I don’t know, maybe for those who are too cheap for the Wingo 5G option or something like that 😂

      Show original language (German)

      I actually believe that @funkfuchs is simply interested in the technical basics and limits of LTE, and there is no need for any reason from actual practice.

      If I misinterpret his previous threads, please feel free to correct me @funkfuchs.

      Show original language (German)

      Hobby-Nerd ohne wirtschaftliche Abhängigkeiten zur Swisscom

      The more bandwidth the cell phone can bundle at the same time via carrier aggregation, the faster data transfer rates are possible (and the faster the battery runs out).

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandbreite

      Space diversity (MIMO + beamforming) can accelerate data transfer (and battery consumption):

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity-Technik

      [https://www.5gamericas.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/MIMO\_and\_Smart\_Antennas\_July\_2013\_FINAL.pdf](https://www.5gamericas.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/07/MIMO_and_Smart_Antennas_July_2013_FINAL.pdf)

      In order to achieve faster data transmission in a given radio channel with a defined bandwidth, a higher, digital modulation method must be used. A higher digital modulation method results in better spectral efficiency (and lower battery consumption).

      For example: QAM-256 offers better spectral efficiency than QAM-64.

      See also:

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funkreach

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spektrale_Effizienz

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_efficiency#Comparison_table

      [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrature amplitude modulation](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrature amplitude modulation)

      [https://www.keysight.com/blogs/en/tech/rfmw/2020/08/24/modulation-schemes-for-satellite-communications](https://www.keysight.com/blogs/en/ tech/rfmw/2020/08/24/modulation-schemes-for-satellite-communications)

      A higher digital modulation method can only be used if the signal-to-noise ratio is sufficiently large (SNR)! The higher the digital modulation method, the greater the minimum SNR requirement! This relationship between the modulation method used and the minimum SNR is clearly shown in the graphic linked below. See also:

      https://i.sstatic.net/GNkHj.png

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal-Rausch-Verh%C3%A4ltnis

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichweit_(Funktechnik)#Grundlagen_bei_Digitalfunk

      Measurements with the Samsung smartphone internal network monitor (telephone number: *#0011#) confirm that sufficiently large SNR in the 4G/LTE and 5G mobile network for fast data transfers can only be achieved with a line of sight to the mobile phone antenna.

      [https://community.sunrise.ch/d/26711-feedback-zur-netzcover-an-eine-specific-ort/8](https://community.sunrise.ch/d/26711-feedback-zur- network coverage-at-a-specific-location/8)

      [https://community.sunrise.ch/d/26711-feedback-zur-netzcover-an-eine-specific-ort/9](https://community.sunrise.ch/d/26711-feedback-zur- network coverage-at-a-specific-location/9)

      Please note the information on SINR at:
      https://www.cellmapper.net/First_Time_Startup?lang=de

      The SINR also takes into account the interference signal (I). The SNR only takes into account the distance from the useful signal (S) to the (heat) noise ®.

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%A4rmerauschen#RauschLevel

      Optimal radio reception conditions prevail when the first Fresnel zone is free of any obstacles.

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnelzone

      In the English language Wikipedia, in the chapter “Maximum clearance”, there is a simple formula with which you can calculate the maximum radius of the first Fresnel zone.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_zone#Maximum_clearance

      In the case of cheap flat roof installations of mobile phone antennas with antenna masts that are much too short à la Eichberg, the flat roof will probably protrude into the first Fresnel zone. This means that optimal radio conditions cannot be achieved in Eichberg if the smartphone is in the surrounding area at a height of up to a maximum of 2 meters above the ground.

      [https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/5G-Antenne-in-Eichberg/m-p/833903#M15466](https://community.swisscom.ch/t5/Mobile/5G-Antenne-in- Eichberg/m-p/833903#M15466)

      If there is a line of sight between the transmitter and receiver, the expected SNR for the radio receiver (here: smartphone) can be calculated using a “link budget” calculation (power transfer balance):

      https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/link-budget-calculator

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_budget

      https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance%C3%BCbertragungsbalance

      If you are seriously interested in mobile communications technology and would like to delve deeper into this technology, you should buy an SDR and create your own mobile network for learning purposes:

      - 4G/LTE -> With self-issued SIM cards

      https://github.com/GrandDixence/CoverageMaps/blob/main/Own_Mobile Network/Installation-Guide_srsRAN_Ubuntu_20.04.m d

      - 2G/GSM -> With Swisscom SIM cards

      https://github.com/GrandDixence/CoverageMaps/blob/main/Own_Mobile Network/Installation-Guide_OsmoCOM_Ubuntu_20.04.m d

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