LTE is the newest wireless broadband technology. LTE is marketed as the fourth generation (4G) of radio technologies. Targets for the bit rate are to have peak data rates from 10 Mbps up to 300 Mbps in the downlink. However, in practical implementations 300 Mbps rates have not yet been achieved. LTE uses the 2.6 GHz band. However, in the future LTE may be using the 800 MHz band.
Contrary to the fixed line access networks, the determining factor in wireless access network design is the area covered by the base stations. The covered area is related to the input power of the base station antenna and the bit rate [3]. The input power determines the reach of the signal and thus the area covered by a base station. Current technologies allow for different modulation schemes being used, determined by the signal to noise ratio. Therefore, higher bit rates will be achieved at smaller ranges from the base station.