Frequency bands are intervals (as in set ranges) of spectrum. Specific RF bands are designated for particular technologies and applications that are agreed upon internationally.

Bands set aside for cellular communication are sold or leased to cellular service operators to provide the transmission medium for their wireless networks. The fragmented nature of RF spectrum has led to frequency ranges being divided into bands that are bought and sold as infrastructure, creating a competitive landscape for cellular airtime.

Channels (sometimes referred to as carriers) are individual frequencies that, when grouped together, form a cellular band. When a mobile device connects to its network, the connection is established over a particular band. The band's channels serve as lanes over which data can flow -- in this analogy the band would be a road that contains the lanes used for transmission (the channels).

Carrier aggregation is a technology developed for LTE-Advanced mobile devices that combines channels into a single carrier signal. When discussing carrier aggregation, the channels being aggregated are referred to as component carriers (CCs). When two carriers are combined, it doubles a connection's usable bandwidth, drastically increasing the rate of transfer.

Most cellular networks can only accommodate the aggregation of two CCs currently -- this is 2xCarrier Aggregation (or 2CA). Some service providers are in early stages of 3CA deployment, and LTE-A standards establish a theoretical maximum of five CCs (5CA).

An abbreviation for decibel-milliwatts, dBm is the unit of measure for the strength of the signals received by mobile devices. Quality of reception directly affects throughput for a cellular interface so it is important to maximize the availability of strong connections.

Decibel-milliwatts are notated as negative numbers, with larger numbers (closer to 0) indicating a stronger signal. This value then correlates to the signal bar visualization commonly displayed on cellular devices. Please refer to the table below for an approximation of how dBms relate to signal strength indicators.

An antenna can be concealed within the casing of a device, as seen with most smart phones. Internal antennas are potentially more prone to interference due to the close grouping of electrical components.

External antennas help alleviate this problem by maximizing a device's natural reach. Instead of sitting inside the device directly next to the modem or transceiver, they screw into place using SMA connectors and protrude from the equipment (think "rabbit ears").

Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology expands the throughput capacity of a transceiver by leveraging multiple antennas to simultaneously convert RF signals into data (or vice versa), providing faster transfer speeds as a result. Think of it (loosely) as Carrier Aggregation for antennas -- once again combining individual lanes into a single, coordinated superhighway.

Networks must leverage MIMO antenna transmission to be technically considered 4G.

Cellular carriers use Access Point Names (APNs) as a control mechanism to ensure only authorized devices utilize a network's data services. It is an authentication gateway used to cross reference a mobile device's intended settings with the ISP-defined permissions (in terms of how it will interface with the network).

Another control mechanism, the subscriber identity module (SIM) is used to associate an individual's cellular device with the customer account assigned by the carrier network.

It also allows users to transfer their account to new devices, assuming that the new equipment is compatible with the same SIM standard.