4G LTE Networks and APN Settings

4G LTE Networks and APN Settings.  LTE Stands for Long Term Evolution, it is normally know by the people as 4G LTE, is a standard in the communication of Mobile Phones used for data transfer, it could have up the 10 times the speed of a normal 3G network,  which ranges from 100 Mbit per second up to 1-Gbit per second.

The 4G LTE technology was first commercially launched in December 2009 in Stockholm and it has since spread over the world, right now there are four nationwide mobile network carriers offering the 4G LTE services in the United States: Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint.

As new generation of mobile phones with 4G LTE capabilities are introduced to the market, such as the iPhone 5, iPad 3, Nexus 5, HTC One, LG G2, etc, people are looking into acquiring this services and be able to browse the internet, watch movies or download anything on their mobile phones on speeds that have never been experienced before.

How to select the proper 4G LTE  Carrier

At the moment of acquiring the carrier that will offer the 4G LTE plans to your mobile device, it is very important to verify the areas you will most likely using the 4G LTE service, and check whether they offer good, stable 4G LTE coverage in that area using the coverage map as reference,  otherwise you might be disappointed when you find out that you can only get 3G speeds on the locations you care the most.

You should use their coverage maps as reference, and most importantly ask your friends, colleagues who might be using a similar service to get their experience with the 4G LTE connections, as sometimes what is marketed is quite different from reality, as they might sometimes have the coverage, but the network is very saturated which end up in a bad connection.

4G LTE Verizon Coverage Map

Configuring the 4G LTE APN Settings

As a final step, it is very important that you configure the proper APN Settings or Access Point Names Settings for the carrier you are using, in most of the cases, there are different versions, you will need the 4G LTE APN Settings and not the normal GPRS or 3G APN Setting.   These settings serve as the routing table for finding the correct server on the mobile network carrier.

Might be of your interest: Nexus 5 Straight Talk LTE APN Settings

If everything  is working:  You have contracted your plan, there is 4G LTE coverage in the area and the APN Settings are setup properly on your LTE enabled device, you should finally be able to see the nice LTE Logo shown up in your mobile phone screen.  Try using one of the speed testing apps to see how good your 4G LTE connection is!