Users of mobile gadgets, buying a smartphone from such famous brands as Samsung and Huawei, notice a new option “Frequency aggregation” in the phone settings. For a long time its meaning was unknown.
What are the types of cellular signal?
GPRS
This is the very first communication protocol in our country. With him, cellular communication once entered Russia. GPRS is an abbreviation that in English sounds like "General Packet Radio Service", and in Russian is translated as packet radio communication. Using this protocol, it was possible to transfer data through the cellular network, which allowed mobile network subscribers to communicate not only with each other, but also with any user of the global network. In this protocol, the transmitted data was combined and sent over the GSM voice channel (currently does not exist). The operator had the right to decide what was most important at the moment: information transfer or voice traffic. Since the inception of mobile networks, he gave preference to voice communication, so the speed in the network over the GPRS channel was often low. The maximum data transfer rate could be as high as 172 kbps, but in reality it was much less. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a modern cell phone by those standards could receive data no faster than 90 kbps.
EDGE
At the very beginning of the emergence of this protocol, speed was considered its advantage. The maximum it could be 475 kbps, however, in fact, the figure could vary from 160 to 300 kbps. The speed depended on several reasons: the operator, the location of the repeater, and the congestion of the network. For an acceptable signal, customers sometimes had to leave the apartment on the street or put the phone closer to the window. It is important that the property of this protocol is currently available anywhere. Even if 3G or 4G networks are not available, this protocol will definitely be connected. Unfortunately, due to the low data transfer rate via the GPRS protocol, you can only view mail, exchange messages in the messenger, but the transfer of media content will be very slow.
3G
This is a communication standard that includes voice communication and high-speed Internet. However, having read such a definition, the modern user will only smile. By the time this network appeared, the data transfer rate was decent. It became possible to make video calls and watch online movies. The speed depended on whether you are in one place or moving. When moving, it varied from 145 kbps to 385 kbps. If the user stayed in place, it could reach 2 Mbps. The maximum speed is 3.5 Mbps. The main thing is that the 3G network has become more stable. Communication drops were much less frequent.
4G (LTE)
This high speed data transmission standard is intended not only for cell phones, but also for servers. This communication standard is incompatible with previous versions (2G and 3G), since it operates on a separate frequency. The highest speed for receiving data can be 160 Mbps. During transmission - 60 Mbps. Such speeds are achievable only under ideal conditions:
- Insignificant distance from the transmitting station.
- You are the only subscriber in the cell.
- Availability of optical transport at the base station.
5G (fifth generation)
The fifth generation of cellular communications will soon replace 3G and 4G. Testing is in full swing at the moment. The launch of the new network is planned for 2020, and most likely it will happen in Asia.
Benefits:
- Using at least two antennas for receiving data.
- Increase in data transfer speed.
- High quality bands.
5G is all about speed. On tests of the mobile network, a maximum value of 25 Gbps was reached. However, ordinary users can expect speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This will allow you to download high definition movies in just a few seconds! The spread of this type of network will lead to the gradual replacement of Wi-FI. Routers will no longer be needed.
Soon 5G will become a regular mobile network, spreading to the most remote villages, and band pooling (frequency aggregation) will become a necessity, but only at the initial stage.
Frequency aggregation
One day an insight came to a man. He decided to transmit the signal on several carrier frequencies at the same time. As a result, the receiving channel has expanded and the data transfer rate has increased. This scheme became known as "Frequency Aggregation". On the designations, it looks like 4G + or LTE-A. First of all, they thought of this and began to apply it at Huawei.
Frequency aggregation is a communication mode in which a modem is connected over several channels and their bandwidth is combined. Data transmission and reception is carried out via two or more channels simultaneously, which increases the speed. For example, there are three 20 MHz channels, which are combined into one 60 MHz, which increases the speed by 2-3 times.
For this, it is necessary that reception and transmission can be carried out on three frequencies. The minimum channel frequency must be at least 20 MHz. Receiving and transmitting sides - have four antennas. Attentive owners of Huawei smartphones may have noticed symbols on the box of the device: 256 QAM. This means a special way of modulating the signal, with the help of which information can be packed more densely.
Currently, Russian providers are interested in this topic. However, there is a problem: the subscriber's device must receive a signal simultaneously on several frequencies. Not every device supports this feature.
Those whose gadgets can do this have an IMO 4x4 antenna and the same modem that can process a signal at two frequencies. In this case, a new menu item will appear in the smartphone menu.
Routers from Huawei also began to support this technology. True, there are still no such devices on the Russian market, and they do not support our operators either. Their price today is more than ten thousand rubles.
In order not to go into this mechanism in detail, we can say that frequency aggregation is a method of accelerating 4G by combining bands. The properties of the reception are also increased. In fact, it is convenient, because if there is no 4G in the area where the subscriber is, then 3G is automatically turned on. Moreover, the data transfer rate will be higher, because there is a combination of carrier frequencies. This feature is supported by the big four mobile operators (Megafon, Beeline, MTS and Tele 2) and Huawei Honor mobile devices. It is worth knowing if the operator does not support this function, then you should not enable it on your smartphone, otherwise there will be a significant deterioration in the quality of communication (stuttering, interference).
Pros and cons
The advantage of frequency aggregation will be the increase in speed to several gigabits / s, which is already a characteristic of a 5G network, therefore, formally, the network formed using aggregation is called 4.75G.
Unfortunately, speed comes at a price. This is an increased energy consumption. With the simultaneous use of several frequencies, the subscriber's device interacts with a large number of base stations. Accordingly, the load on the modem will be greater, which means that the power consumption will increase. So, if your smartphone signals a low battery level, it is better to turn off frequency aggregation.
The new technology also has another weakness. It is poorly adapted to modern realities. Not all operators are able to provide a large margin of bands. All this is due to the high competition between them. Usually, each operator gets a rather narrow frequency band, which can be no more than three tens of megahertz. And if all this will be located only in two channels, then even if you have the most modern smartphone with top-end characteristics, the maximum data transfer rate will be no more than 300 Mbps.
Frequency aggregation is an innovative and useful technology that can increase data transfer rates. However, there is a condition: the technology will be available only under ideal conditions (wide bandwidth, sufficient number of channels and base stations, etc.). This is when really high speeds can be achieved.
