UE Category Reference
Comprehensive matrix of 3GPP User Equipment (UE) categories for LTE (Rel-8 to Rel-14) and 5G NR (Rel-15 to Rel-17).
Capability Matrix
| Category | Peak DL | Peak UL | Modulation (D/U) | MIMO Layers | Release | Device Ecosystem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cat-1 | 10 Mbps | 5 Mbps | 64QAMQPSK | 1×1 | Rel-8 | IoT devices, wearables, basic M2M |
| Cat-10 | 450 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-11 | Premium smartphones |
| Cat-11 | 600 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-11 | Flagship smartphones (2016) |
| Cat-12 | 600 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-11 | Flagship devices |
| Cat-13 | 400 Mbps | 150 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-12 | Upload-focused devices |
| Cat-15 | 800 Mbps | 226 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×2 | Rel-12 | High-end smartphones (2017) |
| Cat-16 | 1.0 Gbps | 150 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-13 | Gigabit LTE devices (2017) |
| Cat-18 | 1.2 Gbps | 150 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-13 | Premium smartphones (2018) |
| Cat-19 | 1.6 Gbps | 150 Mbps | 256QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-13 | Flagship devices (2018-2019) |
| Cat-1bis | 10 Mbps | 5 Mbps | 64QAMQPSK | 1×1 | Rel-13 | IoT devices (half-duplex) |
| Cat-2 | 50 Mbps | 25 Mbps | 64QAMQPSK | 2×1 | Rel-8 | Basic smartphones, tablets |
| Cat-20 | 2.0 Gbps | 200 Mbps | 256QAM256QAM | 4×2 | Rel-14 | Top-tier devices |
| Cat-21 | 1.4 Gbps | 300 Mbps | 256QAM256QAM | 4×2 | Rel-14 | Upload-focused premium devices |
| Cat-22 | 2.6 Gbps | 211 Mbps | 256QAM256QAM | 4×2 | Rel-14 | Maximum performance devices |
| Cat-3 | 100 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 64QAM16QAM | 2×1 | Rel-8 | Standard smartphones |
| Cat-4 | 150 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 2×1 | Rel-8 | Mid-range smartphones, mobile hotspots |
| Cat-5 | 300 Mbps | 75 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-8 | High-end smartphones (2013-2014) |
| Cat-6 | 300 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 2×1 | Rel-10 | Mainstream smartphones (2014-2015) |
| Cat-7 | 300 Mbps | 100 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 2×1 | Rel-10 | Devices with enhanced uplink |
| Cat-9 | 450 Mbps | 50 Mbps | 64QAM64QAM | 4×1 | Rel-11 | High-end smartphones (2015) |
| Cat-M1 | 1 Mbps | 1 Mbps | 16QAMQPSK | 1×1 | Rel-13 | LTE-M devices, asset trackers, sensors |
| Cat-M2 | 4 Mbps | 7 Mbps | 16QAM16QAM | 1×1 | Rel-14 | Enhanced LTE-M devices |
| Cat-NB1 | 26 Kbps | 62 Kbps | QPSKQPSK | 1×1 | Rel-13 | NB-IoT devices, smart meters, sensors |
| Cat-NB2 | 127 Kbps | 159 Kbps | QPSKQPSK | 1×1 | Rel-14 | Enhanced NB-IoT devices |
LTE Evolution Roadmap
User Equipment (UE) categories define the performance characteristics of mobile terminals. Each new release increases spectral efficiency through higher-order modulation and MIMO.
Foundational LTE (Cat 1-5). Initial high-speed data.
LTE-Advanced. Introduced Carrier Aggregation (Cat 6-8).
Enhancements for high-performance uplink (Cat 13-15).
Gigabit LTE. 256QAM & 10+ layers (Cat 16-22).
Beyond Peak Rates
UE capability is more than just speed; it encompasses terminal power, antenna complexity, and protocol support.
RedCap (Rel-17)
Reduced Capability (NR-Light) for power-efficient industrial IoT.
MIMO Strategy
Handsets are typically DL-heavy (4x4) with single-stream uplink.
CA Scenarios
Real-world throughput depends on combining spectrum blocks (CA).