LTE Cell Capacity Calculator
Estimate LTE cell and site throughput from channel bandwidth, spectral efficiency and MIMO layers.
About LTE Cell Capacity Calculator
Spectral efficiency already folds in modulation, coding and typical channel conditions, so multiplying it by the channel bandwidth gives a realistic cell rate rather than a marketing peak. MIMO layers multiply that, and the planned-load factor keeps the design off the congestion knee. Radio capacity, not backhaul, is usually the binding constraint on a cell site, and knowing the honest number tells you whether to add carriers, sectors or a whole new site.
Formula
LTE Cell Capacity
cell throughput = bandwidth (MHz) × spectral efficiency (bps/Hz) × MIMO layers; site = cell × sectors.
- spectral efficiency
- Average bits per second per Hertz across the cell
- layers
- Spatial streams the cell can sustain
Worked example
With the default values below, LTE Cell Capacity Calculator returns Cell Throughput of 64.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Channel bandwidthaccepts 1.4–100 MHz
- 20 MHz
- Average spectral efficiencyaccepts 0.2–8 bps/Hz
- 1.6 bps/Hz
- MIMO layersaccepts 1–8 layers
- 2 layers
- Sectors per siteaccepts 1–12 sectors
- 3 sectors
- Planned cell loadaccepts 1–100 %
- 70 %
- Throughput promised per active useraccepts 0.1–500 Mbps
- 5 Mbps
Results
- Cell Throughput
- 64.0 Mbps
- Site Throughput
- 192.0 Mbps
- Throughput at Planned Load
- 134.4 Mbps
- Concurrent Active Users Supported
- 26
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2LTE Cell Capacity
- 3Cell Throughput= 64.0 Mbps
- 4Site Throughput= 192.0 Mbps
- 5Throughput at Planned Load= 134.4 Mbps
- 6Concurrent Active Users Supported= 26
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is LTE Cell Capacity calculated?
cell throughput = bandwidth (MHz) × spectral efficiency (bps/Hz) × MIMO layers; site = cell × sectors. Spectral efficiency already folds in modulation, coding and typical channel conditions, so multiplying it by the channel bandwidth gives a realistic cell rate rather than a marketing peak. MIMO layers multiply that, and the planned-load factor keeps the design off the congestion knee.
Why does LTE Cell Capacity matter?
Radio capacity, not backhaul, is usually the binding constraint on a cell site, and knowing the honest number tells you whether to add carriers, sectors or a whole new site.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 6 inputs: Channel bandwidth, Average spectral efficiency, MIMO layers, Sectors per site, Planned cell load, Throughput promised per active user. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.