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Spectrum Efficiency Calculator

Work out spectrum efficiency instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Spectrum Efficiency Calculator

Spectral efficiency in bits per second per hertz is the fundamental measure of how well spectrum is used: LTE achieves around 1.5 to 2 bps/Hz per sector in practice and 5G NR somewhat more. Because spectrum is finite, capacity growth comes mainly from reuse — more sectors and smaller cells — which is what the area capacity figure in Mbps per square kilometre captures.

Formula

Spectral and area efficiency

spectral efficiency = throughput / bandwidth; site throughput = per-sector x sectors; area capacity = site throughput / area served

Worked example

With the default values below, Spectrum Efficiency Calculator returns Spectral efficiency of 4.500. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Achieved cell throughputminimum 0.001 Mbps
450 Mbps
Bandwidth usedminimum 0.1 MHz
100 MHz
Sectors per siteaccepts 1–12
3
Area served per siteminimum 0.001 km2
1.2 km2

Results

Spectral efficiency
4.500 bps/Hz
Throughput per site across all sectors
1,350 Mbps
Area capacity
1,125.0 Mbps/km2
Efficiency per sector
4.500 bps/Hz

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Spectral and area efficiency
  3. 3Spectral efficiency= 4.500 bps/Hz
  4. 4Throughput per site across all sectors= 1,350 Mbps
  5. 5Area capacity= 1,125.0 Mbps/km2
  6. 6Efficiency per sector= 4.500 bps/Hz

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, 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

What limits spectral efficiency?

The Shannon bound for the available signal-to-noise ratio. Real systems reach a fraction of it because of control overhead, imperfect channel estimation and interference from neighbouring cells.

Why does densification beat better modulation?

Modulation gains are bounded by Shannon and by cell-edge SNR, while halving the cell radius roughly quadruples area capacity. Density is the only unbounded lever.

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