What is the Difference Between LTE and IMS?

LTE (Long Term Evolution) and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) are two different technologies that serve different purposes in telecommunications.

LTE is a wireless broadband technology developed to support roaming internet access using mobile phones. It provides high-speed data transmission and low latency for mobile devices. However, LTE does not natively support voice calls, so it relies on other solutions to provide voice services.

IMS is more of an architectural framework designed to support IP multimedia services. It is used in both 4G LTE and 5G NR networks and enables voice, video, and other multimedia services over IP networks. IMS works alongside the mobile core network in 4G LTE and 5G New Radio (NR) to enable high-quality voice calls and other real-time communication services.

The main differences between LTE and IMS are:

LTE is a wireless broadband technology, while IMS is an architectural framework for supporting IP multimedia services.
LTE does not natively support voice calls, whereas IMS enables voice calls over the LTE network.
LTE relies on other solutions, such as CSFB (Circuit Switched Fallback), to provide voice services, while IMS enables high-quality voice calls over the LTE network with low latency and bandwidth.

VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is a technology that enables voice calls over the LTE network using the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) architecture. VoLTE requires IMS to work with the 4G LTE core network, Evolved Packet Core (EPC), to combine IP telephony with data communication, allowing rich communication services to be delivered.