LTE

4G Outdoor Antennas

Enhance your 4G data connection with an 4G outdoor antenna. Our 4G outdoor antennas significantly boost the signal strength, stability, and data transfer rate of your 4G connection.

In Germany and Europe, the 4G signal (also known as LTE) is generally transmitted over three frequency bands: 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz. We offer 4G multiband antennas that cover all these frequency bands and can be used universally.

Our 4G antennas are compatible with all common 4G router models, such as those from Telekom (Speedport), Vodafone (B-Series and GigaCube), and O2. Of course, you can also use our 4G antennas with other 4G router models like FritzBox, Huawei, or Teltonika.

If you have any questions about the connections or are unsure whether your LTE router has an external antenna port, do not hesitate to contact us via chat, email, or phone. Our team is happy to assist you.

How can an 4G connection be enhanced using an 4G outdoor antenna?

By placing an 4G antenna outdoors, you eliminate dampening interference factors such as your house wall. House walls, highly insulated windows, or reinforced concrete ceilings are major obstacles for 4G data connections. Installing an 4G antenna outdoors allows you to bypass these negative influences. Place the antenna as high as possible to also exclude neighboring buildings and trees as interference factors. Such an 4G antenna must be weatherproof, so an 4G outdoor antenna is the best choice.
 

What does the "dBi" value mean for an 4G antenna?

The gain of an 4G antenna is measured in dBi. The higher the dBi value of an 4G outdoor antenna, the higher the gain and thus the range of the antenna. Although the topic is more complex, this simple rule always applies.
 

4G directional antenna or 4G omnidirectional antenna?

An 4G directional antenna is recommended for fixed, permanent installations such as at a residence or office. It has a high range due to signal bundling. The higher the gain of the antenna, the stronger the signal bundling and the more precisely it must be aimed at the transmitter of your 4G provider. Place the 4G directional antenna so that there is a clear line of sight to the transmitter. Take your time with the precise alignment to achieve the best possible signal enhancement.

An 4G omnidirectional antenna is suitable for mobile, temporary installations or when the position of the 4G provider's transmitter is unclear or the line of sight is severely restricted. It does not need to be aimed, as it sends and receives the 4G signal equally in all directions. However, it does not achieve the same high range in a specific direction as a directional antenna.
 

How do I connect my 4G antenna?

An 4G antenna is connected to your device (usually an 4G router) via a coaxial antenna cable. You need an antenna cable that fits both the antenna connections and the router connections. Typically, 4G routers have SMA sockets, while 4G outdoor antennas usually have N sockets. Therefore, a cable with an N plug to SMA plug is necessary. Small, mobile routers like Vodafone's GigaCube often use TS9 plugs. In this case, we recommend using an adapter cable (pigtail) from SMA socket to TS9 plug. In general, the shorter the antenna cable, the lower the signal loss. Keep the cable connection between the 4G antenna and the router as short as possible, and consider repositioning the router if necessary.

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4G antennas for mobile networks emerged with the advent of mobile communications on the national landscape. They are a crucial element of mobile network infrastructure, ensuring the availability and quality of mobile services nationwide. Access to mobile services aligns with strong consumer expectations and plays a crucial role in the economic and social life of the country. 4G antennas not only enhance communication between individuals but also significantly improve the safety of goods and persons, especially by enabling emergency calls in areas without fixed-line coverage.

4G Antennas:

4G, using frequency bands ranging from 450 MHz to 3.8 GHz, employs LTE antennas. With a bandwidth of up to 20 MHz, it can achieve a theoretical bit rate of 300 Mbit/s in the downlink. The "true 4G," known as 4G Advanced, provides a downlink speed reaching or even exceeding 1 Gbit/s. This throughput requires the use of aggregated frequency bands with a width of 2 × 100 MHz, defined in LTE Advanced standards releases 10 to 15 (3GPP Releases 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15). In October 2010, the ITU recognized LTE Advanced as an independent 4G technology. In December 2010, it granted LTE antennas the standard defined for LTE before the "IMT-Advanced" specifications.

4G networks consist of thousands of cells, thanks to OFDMA (base to terminal) and SC-FDMA (from terminal to terminal), allowing the use of radio coding even in adjacent cells. This enables each cell to be assigned a larger spectral width than in 3G. The network typically comprises two parts: a radio part (eUTRAN) and an "EPC" core network (Evolved Packet Core).

Advantages of 4G Standards:

4G standards, derived from the 3GPP consortium, bring many changes and improvements compared to 3G standards, including:

  • Theoretical downlink speed of up to 326.4 Mbit/s peak (300 Mbit/s useful) in 4 × 4 MIMO mode.
  • Theoretical uplink rate of up to 86.4 Mbit/s peak (75 Mbit/s useful), supporting five classes of 4G devices with speeds from 10 Mbit/s (Category 1) to the maximum LTE standard downlink speed (300 Mbit/s for Category 5).
  • Three to four times the data rate of UMTS/HSPA1.
  • Spectral efficiency (bits transmitted per second per Hertz) three times higher than UMTS version called HSPA.
  • Round Trip Time (RTT) latency near 10 ms (compared to 70 to 200 ms in HSPA and UMTS).
  • Use of OFDMA coding for the downlink and SC-FDMA for the uplink (instead of W-CDMA in UMTS).
  • Improved radio performance and speeds through the use of MIMO multi-antenna technology on the terrestrial device side (eNodeB) and on the device side (only for reception).
  • Ability to offer an operator an assigned frequency band from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz, providing greater flexibility than the fixed spectral width of 5 MHz of UMTS/W-CDMA.
  • A wide range of supported radio frequency bands, including those historically assigned to GSM and 3G, and new spectral bands, especially around 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz: 39 bands are standardized by 3GPP (27 in LTE FDD and 11 in TDD).
  • Support for more than 200 simultaneously active terminals in each cell.
  • Good support for fast-moving terminals, with good performance up to 350 km/h or even up to 500 km/h, depending on the frequency bands used.

4G standards and antennas are gradually improving over time, positively impacting users.

Regulations for the Deployment of 4G Antennas:

Before establishing a mobile network, the Federal Network Agency allocates frequencies to a mobile network operator and grants them a national license with specifications. These specifications include various obligations, especially regarding coverage and service quality, subject to review by the Federal Network Agency. After the entire network is authorized, the operator can deploy the network by installing mobile masts. 4G antennas are not installed or activated freely. Each installation project is subject to several additional regulations, including property rights, urban planning, and site protection. Site coordination of radio stations, regulations on frequency management, and aspects of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of transmitters are implemented. The construction of radio stations of all kinds across the national territory is coordinated to ensure the best use of available sites and compliance with limits on public exposure to electromagnetic fields. Regulations for the use of LTE antennas may change over time.

4G Networks:

With LTE and 4G, manufacturers and operators in Germany provide real average downlink speeds measured at around 30 Mbit/s and average upstream speeds between 6 and 8 Mbit/s. With device generations (Categories 4, 5, and +) since 2014, operators allow peak throughput of up to 150 Mbit/s (Category 4 devices), aiming for 300 Mbit/s and more in the medium term through Carrier Aggregation offered in the 4G Advanced evolution. The theoretical maximum throughput of 4G Advanced technology is over 1 Gbit/s.

The first 4G networks and devices, available in 2012/2014, could only transmit data over the radio network (similar to the GPRS and Edge protocols reserved for data transmission in GSM networks). The provided frequency bands for 4G and 4G Advanced, as per the 3GPP standards, are numerous (over 30) and range from 450 MHz to 3.8 GHz. Bands in the 450 to 900 MHz range can be used in all areas, especially suitable for rural areas due to their longer range than higher-frequency microwaves. The coverage radius of each cell varies from a few hundred meters (optimal flow rates in dense urban areas) to 30 km (rural areas). Mobile operators offering 4G access reuse their 2G or 3G network (CDMA or UMTS) to handle voice calls of their subscribers using a method called Circuit Switch Fall-Back (CSFB). A new standard is in use: Voice Over LTE (VoLTE), natively supporting voice in Voice-over-IP mode in the 4G network if compatible smartphones are used. It enables faster calls and offers better voice quality by using Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) wideband codecs.