Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data. It is based upon GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies. The standard is maintained as a project of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), operating under a name trademarked by one of the associations within the partnership, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
The goal of LTE is to increase the capacity and speed of wireless data networks utilizing cutting-edge hardware and DSP techniques that have recently been developed. Its wireless interface is incompatible with 2G and 3G networks, and so it must be operated on separate wireless spectrum.
Features of LTE include an all-IP flat network architecture, end-to-end QoS including provisions for low-latency communications, peak download rates nearing 300Mbps and upload rates of 75Mbps, capacity exceeding 200 active users per cell, the ability to manage fast-moving mobiles, and support for multi-cast and broadcast streams.
MetroPCS, Verizon Wireless, and AT&T Wireless in the United States along with several worldwide carriers are building out LTE networks. The world's first publicly available LTE-service was opened by TeliaSonera in the Scandinavian capitals Stockholm and Oslo on 14 December 2009.