Mobile Technology General Info
GSM frequency usage around the world
Quad-band
The term quad-band describes a device that supports four frequency bands: 850 and 1900 MHz, mostly used in Canada and the United States, and the common 900 and 1800 MHz bands.
| System | Band | Uplink (MHz) | Downlink (MHz) | Channel number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSM-850 | 850 | 824.2–849.2 | 869.2–894.2 | 128–251 |
| P-GSM-900 | 900 | 890.0–915.0 | 935.0–960.0 | 1–124 |
| E-GSM-900 | 900 | 880.0–915.0 | 925.0–960.0 | 975–1023, 0-124 |
| R-GSM-900 | 900 | 876.0–915.0 | 921.0–960.0 | 955–1023, 0-124 |
| T-GSM-900 | 900 | 870.4–876.0 | 915.4–921.0 | dynamic |
| DCS-1800 | 1800 | 1,710.2–1,784.8 | 1,805.2–1,879.8 | 512–885 |
| PCS-1900 | 1900 | 1,850.2–1,909.8 | 1,930.2–1,989.8 | 512–810 |
The Americas
In North America, GSM operates on the primary mobile communication bands 850 MHz and 1,900 MHz. In Canada, GSM-1900 is the primary band used in urban areas with 850 as a backup, and GSM-850 being the primary rural band. In the United States, regulatory requirements determine which area can use which band.
GSM-1900 and GSM-850 are also used in most of South and Central America, and both Ecuador and Panama use GSM-850 exclusively (Note: Since November 2008, a Panamanian operator has begun to offer GSM-1900 service). Venezuela and Brazil use GSM-850 and GSM-900/1800 mixing the European and American bands. Some countries in the Americas use GSM-900 or GSM-1800, some others use three: GSM-850/900/1900, GSM-850/1800/1900, GSM-900/1800/1900 or GSM-850/900/1800. Soon some countries will use GSM-850/900/1800/1900 MHz like the Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela.
In Brazil, the 1,900 MHz band is paired with 2,100 MHz to form the IMT-compliant 2,100 MHz band for 3G services. The result is a mixture of usage in the Americas that requires travelers to confirm that the phones they have are compatible with the band of the networks at their destinations. Frequency compatibility problems can be avoided through the use of multi-band (tri-band or, especially, quad-band) phones.
Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia
In Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia, most of the providers use 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. GSM-900 is most widely used. Fewer operators use DCS-1800 and GSM-1800. A dual-band 900/1800 phone is required to be compatible with almost all operators. At least the GSM-900 band must be supported in order to be compatible with many operators. However, Thailand has also approved for some time now the use of the GSM-1900 band in an attempt to alleviate network congestion.
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation (3G) wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.
Deployments by region
In general, the various UMTS bands are deployed as follows:
- Band I (W-CDMA 2100) in Europe, India, Africa, Israel, Asia, Australia (all carriers' metropolitan networks), New Zealand (ITU Region 1), Thailand (TOT (Thailand)), and Brazil (part of ITU Region 2)
- Band II (W-CDMA 1900) in North America and South America (ITU Region 2).
- Band IV (W-CDMA 1700 or Advanced Wireless Services) in the United States (T-Mobile USA), Canada (WIND Mobile, Mobilicity, Vidéotron) and Chile (VTR Movil, Nextel Chile)
- Band V (W-CDMA 850) in Australia (NextG|Telstra NextG, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Vodafone), Hong Kong (SmarTone), Thailand (True move and DTAC), New Zealand (XT Mobile Network), Brazil, Canada, the USA, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic (Claro),Venezuela, other parts of South America, Israel (Pelephone, , parts of Asia (ITU Region 2 and ITU Region 3), Poland (Sferia)
- Band VIII (W-CDMA 900) in Europe, Asia, Australia (Optus and Vodafone regional/country 3G networks), New Zealand (Vodafone NZ), Thailand (Advanced Info Service), Dominican Republic (Orange Dominicana), Venezuela (Digitel GSM), Poland (Play (telecommunications) and Aero2 HSPA+ Internet only)