What does LTE network mean? The most important information

The LTE network has been steadily expanded in Germany since 2010 and now provides around 95 percent of all households with LTE reception. Since LTE is the fourth mobile communications standard, it is often abbreviated as 4G.

What does the term LTE network mean

LTE is the abbreviation for Long Term Evolution and is used to refer to the fourth-generation mobile communications standard. The LTE network is now considered the standard of mobile technology and, compared to its predecessors, is characterized primarily by a more stable connection and higher speed. Nevertheless, there are differences in the speed achieved in the LTE network. This depends on which mobile network provider you have and is a maximum of 300 Mbit/s with Telekom, a maximum of 500 Mbit/s with Vodafone and a maximum of 225 Mbit/s with Telefónica.

How to check whether you are surfing on the LTE network

Have you signed an LTE contract, you can still only surf on the LTE network if your smartphone is LTE-enabled and the use of LTE is activated on the device.

1. You can usually tell whether you are using LTE by the LTE icon that is displayed in the top right corner of your smartphone's status bar.
2. If the abbreviation LTE is displayed there, this can have several reasons. For example, your device may not be LTE-capable or you are currently in an area where no LTE reception is available.
3. In addition, it may also be that the LTE function is not activated on your smartphone. If this is the case for you, please navigate to "Settings" > "More Settings"> "Mobile Networks" and select "LTE" from the mobile options.