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4G LTE Link Budget Calculator

This calculator estimates 4G LTE downlink and uplink link budget, received signal level, receiver sensitivity, link margin, and approximate cell range from LTE carrier bandwidth, PRB allocation, RF gains and losses, and selected propagation model.

Scenario and channel

Propagation Model

LOS / NLOS

Terminal Environment

Center Frequency (MHz)

LTE Channel Bandwidth (MHz)

Allocated PRBs

Current 2D Distance (m)

eNodeB Antenna Height (m)

UE Antenna Height (m)

LTE uses 15 kHz subcarrier spacing in this calculator. Occupied bandwidth and receiver sensitivity are derived from the selected LTE PRB allocation rather than the nominal channel bandwidth alone.

Power, antenna, and receiver inputs

eNodeB Total TX Power (dBm)

eNodeB Antenna Gain (dBi)

eNodeB Feeder / RF Loss (dB)

eNodeB Noise Figure (dB)

UE Total TX Power (dBm)

UE Antenna Gain (dBi)

UE Body / Device Loss (dB)

UE Noise Figure (dB)

Required DL SINR (dB)

Required UL SINR (dB)

TX power is treated as total LTE carrier power. The tool scales it to the scheduled PRB share, which is more useful than treating the transmitter as if only a fixed single-RB portion were active.

Losses and margins

Exterior Wall / Penetration Loss (dB)

Indoor Depth (m)

Indoor Attenuation (dB/m)

Foliage Loss (dB)

Weather Margin (dB)

Interference Margin (dB)

Shadow / Fade Margin (dB)

Configure the LTE scenario and calculate.

Summary

Path Loss at Current Distance -

Effective Additional Losses -

DL Max Range -

UL Max Range -

Cell Range Limit -

Limiting Direction -

Downlink and uplink result

Metric	Downlink	Uplink
No calculation yet.

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How to Use This Tool

Select the propagation model and LOS or NLOS condition.
Enter LTE center frequency, channel bandwidth, allocated PRBs, distance, and antenna heights.
For RMa, enter street width and average building height.
Set eNodeB and UE transmit power, antenna gain, RF loss, noise figure, and required SINR.
If the terminal is indoors, enter wall loss, indoor depth, and indoor attenuation.
Add interference, shadow, foliage, or weather margin values as needed.
Select Calculate Link Budget to view path loss, received level, sensitivity, margin, and maximum DL and UL range.
Use the lower of the DL and UL maximum range values as the effective LTE cell-range limit.

How the LTE link budget is calculated

The tool follows the standard link-budget chain: allocated transmit power, antenna gain, feeder and body loss, path loss, penetration and margin terms, received power, receiver sensitivity, and final link margin.

Link Margin = Received Power - Receiver Sensitivity

Receiver Sensitivity = -174 dBm/Hz + 10log10(Occupied Bandwidth) + Noise Figure + Required SINR

Occupied bandwidth is derived from the actual LTE PRB allocation using 12 subcarriers per PRB and 15 kHz LTE subcarrier spacing. That makes the sensitivity estimate useful for both fully loaded and partially scheduled LTE channels.

Note: This is a planning and sanity-check tool. It does not model interference coordination, scheduler burstiness, MIMO combining gain, HARQ dynamics, or implementation-specific receiver performance beyond the noise figure and required SINR inputs you provide.

Release 18 validation notes

This calculator is validated against the latest maintained archive packages available in the 3GPP FTP archive as of March 30, 2026.

TR 38.901-j30: propagation-model basis for UMa, UMi, RMa, InH, and FSPL-style path-loss estimation.
TS 36.101-j50: LTE UE RF capability and channel-bandwidth context.
TS 36.104-j20: LTE base-station RF context and eNodeB-oriented assumptions.
TS 36.211-j30: LTE physical-layer carrier structure context, including PRB and 15 kHz subcarrier fundamentals used in occupied-bandwidth handling.

The result is still an estimate. Validation here means the calculator stays aligned with current 3GPP archive baselines and with the assumptions used in practical LTE planning workflows, not that it replaces a full vendor radio-planning tool.

Release note: LTE link-budget math itself is not a new Release 18 invention. The Release 18 value is that the page uses current maintained archive references instead of frozen older revisions.

LTE bandwidth and occupied bandwidth reference

LTE channel bandwidth	PRBs	Occupied bandwidth used for sensitivity
1.4 MHz	6 PRBs	1.08 MHz occupied
3 MHz	15 PRBs	2.7 MHz occupied
5 MHz	25 PRBs	4.5 MHz occupied
10 MHz	50 PRBs	9 MHz occupied
15 MHz	75 PRBs	13.5 MHz occupied
20 MHz	100 PRBs	18 MHz occupied

Related pages

References

FAQ

Which 3GPP references validate this LTE link budget calculator?

The page uses 3GPP TR 38.901 Release 18 archive baselines for propagation-model equations and LTE 36-series Release 18 archive baselines, especially TS 36.101, TS 36.104, and TS 36.211, for LTE RF, bandwidth, and carrier-structure context.

Why does an LTE calculator use TR 38.901?

TR 38.901 is the maintained 3GPP channel-model reference that public LTE and NR planning calculators commonly use for UMa, UMi, RMa, InH, and FSPL path-loss estimates. The LTE-specific part of the page is the bandwidth, PRB, and RF context wrapped around that propagation basis.

Does this tool predict live user throughput?

No. It predicts received level, sensitivity, margin, and range. Use it to understand whether the radio budget is feasible, then compare with throughput tools and real scheduler behavior separately.

What limits the final LTE cell range output?

The tool calculates both downlink and uplink maximum range. The smaller of the two becomes the effective cell-range limit, which often means uplink limits macro coverage before downlink does.

Why can the required SINR be negative?

Low-order modulation and robust coding can operate below 0 dB SINR. Negative SINR inputs are valid when you are budgeting for coverage-oriented LTE operation rather than peak throughput.