4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) describes the evolution of mobile technology that will deliver users the benefits of faster data speeds and new services by creating a new radio access technology that's optimized for IP-based traffic and offers operators a simple upgrade path to 4G networks. Alongside LTE is work on the evolutionary development of the core architecture of mobile networks, called system architecture evolution (SAE).

Together, they will offer operators networks with significant performance enhancements over 4G, with a target of two to four times the spectral efficiency of 4G/HSPA networks. This means LTE networks will be able to squeeze more bits of data into the same amount of spectrum as 4G and HSPA networks, translating into increased data speeds and/or increased capacity.