Understanding Cell phone Frequency Bands
Maybe you're a businessman who needs to stay in touch with your clients even when you're traveling from one side of the world to another or maybe you're simply someone who desires to be updated of all the news and hips around. So, you're searching for the best phone that suit your needs, are you not? But what kind of frequency band will you consider?
In the US, GSM services use 2 frequency bands while there are also two different frequency bands which were used by them somewhere else in the world. Considering this dilemma, some of the notable mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson and Motorola developed a phone that can work on all 4 frequency bands generally known as quad-band phones.
So what about this frequency band? Let us try to know more about it.
Cellular phones make use of radio waves to transmit conversations. These radio waves can be at different frequencies. Think about this interesting record of different frequencies used by different types of radio services.
GSM cell phones use frequencies within 4 different frequency bands.
*850 MHz (824.2 - 848.8 MHz Tx; 869.2 - 893.8 MHz Rx)
*900 MHz (880-2 - 914.8 MHz Tx; 925.2 - 959.8 MHz Rx)
*1800 MHz (1710.2 - 1784.8 MHz Tx; 1805.2 - 1879.8 MHz Rx)
*1900 MHz (1850.2 - 1909.8 MHz Tx; 1930.2 - 1989.8 MHz Rx)
Even though 850 and 900, 1800 and 1900 are seemingly close figures, a phone that works in one frequency band sadly can not work in the frequency band next to it unless added as a specific extra frequency band. To contrast, when you have your FM radio tuned to a radio station at 98.1 MHz, you are able to obviously never hear what's happening on another radio station at 98.3 MHz unless of course you retune your radio. You got it? This is really how the phone frequency band works.
Previously, the US only used 1900 MHz for its GSM cell phone service. But in the passing years, there has been a growing amount of GSM service on the 850 MHz band mainly because this kind of service is generally been used in rural areas, since it has better range than the 1900 MHz band. However, it was also been utilized in city areas especially when the cell phone company has spare frequencies unused in the 850 MHz band and no remaining frequencies to use in the 1900 MHz band.
However, when the US began to use GSM, a few other countries with very close links to the US chose to copy the US and use the same frequencies which US used. Actually, almost without exception, all international countries which use the non-US international frequency bands have 900 MHz service.
So which frequencies are needed when traveling internationally?
If you plan to use your phone only internationally, you need to decide if you will be using the phone in countries which use the international frequencies or in countries that use the US frequencies, or in both. Nevertheless, in all common bands, 900 MHz was used internationally and the 1800 MHz will only give expanded coverage in countries which have 900 MHz.
Nevertheless, if you plan to make use of your phone just in the US, you just have to get a dual band phone which has both 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. A single band phone with only 1900 MHz will give almost as good coverage anyway.
Summing up, if you intend to use your phone in both the US and internationally, the best alternative is to get a quad-band phone that will work on four bands which is the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands.
In the US, GSM services use 2 frequency bands while there are also two different frequency bands which were used by them somewhere else in the world. Considering this dilemma, some of the notable mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Siemens, Ericsson and Motorola developed a phone that can work on all 4 frequency bands generally known as quad-band phones.
So what about this frequency band? Let us try to know more about it.
Cellular phones make use of radio waves to transmit conversations. These radio waves can be at different frequencies. Think about this interesting record of different frequencies used by different types of radio services.
GSM cell phones use frequencies within 4 different frequency bands.
*850 MHz (824.2 - 848.8 MHz Tx; 869.2 - 893.8 MHz Rx)
*900 MHz (880-2 - 914.8 MHz Tx; 925.2 - 959.8 MHz Rx)
*1800 MHz (1710.2 - 1784.8 MHz Tx; 1805.2 - 1879.8 MHz Rx)
*1900 MHz (1850.2 - 1909.8 MHz Tx; 1930.2 - 1989.8 MHz Rx)
Even though 850 and 900, 1800 and 1900 are seemingly close figures, a phone that works in one frequency band sadly can not work in the frequency band next to it unless added as a specific extra frequency band. To contrast, when you have your FM radio tuned to a radio station at 98.1 MHz, you are able to obviously never hear what's happening on another radio station at 98.3 MHz unless of course you retune your radio. You got it? This is really how the phone frequency band works.
Previously, the US only used 1900 MHz for its GSM cell phone service. But in the passing years, there has been a growing amount of GSM service on the 850 MHz band mainly because this kind of service is generally been used in rural areas, since it has better range than the 1900 MHz band. However, it was also been utilized in city areas especially when the cell phone company has spare frequencies unused in the 850 MHz band and no remaining frequencies to use in the 1900 MHz band.
However, when the US began to use GSM, a few other countries with very close links to the US chose to copy the US and use the same frequencies which US used. Actually, almost without exception, all international countries which use the non-US international frequency bands have 900 MHz service.
So which frequencies are needed when traveling internationally?
If you plan to use your phone only internationally, you need to decide if you will be using the phone in countries which use the international frequencies or in countries that use the US frequencies, or in both. Nevertheless, in all common bands, 900 MHz was used internationally and the 1800 MHz will only give expanded coverage in countries which have 900 MHz.
Nevertheless, if you plan to make use of your phone just in the US, you just have to get a dual band phone which has both 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. A single band phone with only 1900 MHz will give almost as good coverage anyway.
Summing up, if you intend to use your phone in both the US and internationally, the best alternative is to get a quad-band phone that will work on four bands which is the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz bands.
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