1. What’s 4G and 5G， LTE
4G=The 4th Generation Communication System.The fourth generation of wireless is the predecessor to 5G and is the fourth generation of mobile network technology. In the 2010s, 4G became the newest and most innovative generation of cellular technology and became ubiquitous within a decade. Some of the promises of 4G included enhanced cell density, improved VoIP capabilities, and greater bandwidth.
LTE=Long Term Evolution. Long Term Evolution is the long-term evolution of the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) technical standard developed by the 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project), which was officially launched at the 3GPP Toronto meeting in December 2004. Long Term Evolution was developed as the 4G standard during the dominance of 4G. LTE is the global gold standard for wireless broadband and lays the foundation for 5G networks. Both 4G and LTE support a variety of traffic types, which was difficult for previous generations and 5G must now improve.
5G=The 5th Generation Communication System. The fifth generation of wireless is the latest generation of cellular network technology. Small early deployments began in the late 2010s, but 5G will not become widespread until the mid-2020s. 5G’s touted benefits include faster network speeds and real-time communication capabilities.
Summary: 4G ≠ LTE, it’s just usually LTE technical standard.
2. What is Cat?
Cat. stands for LTE UE-Category, where UE refers to user equipment, which is a classification of the wireless performance of user terminal equipment in the LTE network. According to the relevant 3GPP standards and specifications, UE category is a collection of variable wireless performance parameters in uplink/downlink, including many wireless characteristics, the most important of which is the rate supported by the user equipment. The correspondence between various "UE Categories" and supported rates is as follows. Some LTE UE Categories such as LTE Cat 3, LTE Cat 4 and LTE Cat 0 are widely quoted and used. Others like LTE Cat 7 and LTE Cat 8 are much newer.
UECategory | Downlink (Mbps) | Downlink antenna configuration | Uplink (Mbps) | Uplink 64QAM |
category1 | 10.296 | 1 | 5.16 | NO |
category2 | 51.024 | 2 | 25.456 | NO |
category3 | 102.048 | 2 | 51.024 | NO |
category4 | 150.752 | 2 | 51.024 | NO |
category5 | 299.552 | 4 | 75.376 | YES |
category6 | 301.504 | 20r4 | 51.024 | NO |
category7 | 301.504 | 2 or 4 | 102.048 | NO |
category8 | 2998.56 | 8 | 1497.76 | YES |
category9 | 452.25 | 2 or4 | 51.024 | NO |
category10 | 452.25 | 2 or 4 | 102.048 | NO |
categoryl1 | 603.0 | 20r 4 | 51.024 | ? |
category12 | 603.0 | 2 or 4 | 102 .480 | ? |
3. What’s the main differences of CAT1 & CAT4?
Difference 1: Different costs and working power consumption;
Cat1 has lower costs and lower power consumption. In terms of chip costs, after system optimization, the integration is higher, the hardware architecture of the module is simpler, and the peripheral hardware cost is lower. CAT4 is relatively high.
Difference 2: Different broadband rates and different application scenarios;
CAT1 application scenarios: wearable devices, smart home appliances, industrial sensors, hydrological and water conservancy detection, port logistics tracking. Shared payment. The broadband rate requirements are not high, and it is battery-powered.
CAT4 application scenarios: Internet of Vehicles, smart grid, 4G wireless routing, video security, commercial display equipment, 4G law enforcement instrument. Video live broadcast equipment. The broadband rate requirements are very high. At the same time, the stability requirements are higher.
Feature | LTE Cat 1 | LTE Cat 4 |
Bandwidth | 20MHz | 20MHz |
Downlink | 10Mbps | 150Mbps |
Uplink | 5Mbps | 50Mbps |
Duplex | Full | Full |
4. What’s the benefits of 4G LTE CAT4 smart energy meter?
enable high speed, data security
high performance smart grid applications that deliver broad territory coverage
Real time monitoring and low latency
What’s more it’s prepayment and it supports billing
As smart metering for smart grid and solar monitoring needs continue to grow, solar owner are looking for cost-effective, scalable, and secure connectivity solutions and 4G LTE smart energy meter provides the best option
If you have solar roofs ,solar EPC or other solar system which will generate energy - usually it’s DC current, then you may need use a solar inverter to transfer DC into AC. By using this 4G energy meter, you will know how much energy the inverter input to you and you may obtain a government grants if there are some policies on solar projects. What’s more, if you rent out your houses this meter is prepayment, the tenants will pay you in advance as it’s a prepaid energy meter, making payment before using is the rule.
Finally, I believe you have a certain understanding of 4G 5G LTE, CAT1 CAT4. If you need CAT1 CAT4 GPRS-2/3/4G Smart energy meter, plz visit IoT Meter, IoT and Smart Meter, IOT Smart Metering Solutions, Smart Meter IOT Technology (ivy-emeter.com)
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