Dual, Tri, or Quad Band GSM
Phone? |
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Quad band GSM phones - like
this lovely Motorola V600 - are becoming more common and
less
expensive.
Increasingly, a quad
band phone should be your first choice of phone.
Part
5 of an 8 part series - click for Parts
One
Two
Three
Four Five
Six
Seven
Eight |
Two frequency bands are used by
GSM services in the US. Two different frequency bands are
used by GSM services elsewhere in the world.
Ideally, you'd want a phone
that can work on all four bands - commonly called a quad-band
phone. But these are still rare and expensive.
If choosing a tri-band phone as
a second best choice, be careful which three bands your phone
has. Some bands are more useful than others, depending
on where you travel.
What is a frequency band?
Cell phones use radio waves
to transmit your conversations. These radio waves can be
at different frequencies, just the same as regular radio
stations are at different frequencies.
For example, if you're
listening to FM radio stations, they are in the FM radio band
(of course!) which is between 88-108 MHz. If you're
listening to AM radio stations, they are in the AM radio band,
between 0.55 and 1.6 MHz.
Here's an interesting table
of the different frequencies used by
different types of radio services.
GSM cell phones use
frequencies within four 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)
Although 850 and 900, and
1800 and 1900 are very close together, a phone that works in one
frequency band unfortunately can not also work in the frequency
band next to it unless added as a specific extra frequency band.
For comparison, when you have your FM radio tuned to a radio
station at 98.1 MHz, there's no way you'll hear what is
happening on another radio station at 98.3 MHz unless you retune
your radio.
Which frequencies are used in
the US?
Originally, the US used only
1900 MHz for its GSM cell phone service. In the last year
or so, there has been a growing amount of GSM service on the 850
MHz band. This type of service will usually be seen in
rural areas, because the 850 MHz band has better range than the
1900 MHz band. It can sometimes also found in city areas,
particularly if the cell phone company has spare frequencies
unused in the 850 MHz band, but no remaining frequencies to use
in the 1900 MHz band.
Most of the 850 MHz service
belongs to AT&T, and some to Cingular (these two companies are
in the process of merging). Although T-Mobile does not (as
of July 04) have any of its own 850 MHz service, because it has
roaming agreements with both AT&T and Cingular, even a T-mobile
user might sometimes find themselves in an area where the only
signal available is on 850 MHz.
What about 800 MHz? Is
this a fifth band?
Some people refer to the 850
MHz band as being the 800 MHz band. This is incorrect.
The actual frequencies in the band are closer to 850 MHz and the
standardized naming convention as promulgated by the GSM
Association is to refer to this band as '850 MHz'.
If you see someone referring
to a phone with 800 MHz service, they probably are simply
mistaken and mean to refer to the 850 MHz band.
Do you need both frequencies in
the US?
This really depends on the
areas in which you use your cell phone. If you're in a
major metropolitan area, you probably won't need the 850 MHz
band, but if you travel to secondary areas regularly, you will
find the extra coverage of the 850 MHz band to be valuable.
Looking into the future, it
is probable we'll see increased use of 850 MHz to expand GSM's
overall coverage into more of the country.
And then, looking further
into the future, it is possible we'll see 1900 MHz coverage
duplicating the 850 MHz coverage.
Bottom line : If you
travel out of the main cities, you'll definitely benefit from a
phone that supports both 850 MHz and 1900 MHz.
Which frequencies are used
internationally?
GSM was originally developed
in Europe, and only came to the US recently.
Initially, all countries
with GSM service used the 900 MHz band. In the past few years,
service providers have increasingly been adding 1800 MHz
coverage, due to congestion in the 900 MHz band.
When the US started to
use GSM, a few other countries with very close links to the US
chose to copy the US and use the same frequencies that the US
used - first 1900 MHz, and in a few cases, 850 MHz also.
Almost without exception,
all international countries that use the non-US international
frequency bands have 900 MHz service, and many have some 1800
MHz service as well.
All international countries
that have the US frequency bands have 1900 MHz service. A
very few might also have some 850 MHz service.
Which frequencies do you need
when traveling internationally?
That depends on the
countries you plan to visit.
Refer to the table below to
get a feeling for which countries use which frequency bands.
For a more expanded set of information, complete with network
coverage maps, refer to the official
GSM Association's website.
As the table suggests, 900
MHz is the most common band used internationally. 1800 MHz
will give you expanded coverage in countries that also have 900
MHz. And some countries only have 1900 MHz rather than 900
or 1800 MHz.
Note that countries with
both 900 and 1800 MHz service generally provide better coverage
in the 900 MHz band than in the 1800 MHz band.
Which bands should you get on
your phone?
If used only in the US
If you intend to use your
phone only in the US, then get a dual band phone that has both
850 MHz and 1900 MHz.
A single band phone with only 1900
MHz will give almost as good coverage.
If used only internationally
If you intend to use your
phone only internationally, then decide if you'll be using the
phone in countries that use the international frequencies, or in
countries that use the US frequencies, or in both.
If you only need to use the
phone in countries with international frequencies, get a dual
band 900/1800 MHz phone. A single band phone with only 900
MHz will give reasonably good coverage, but most international
phones these days have both bands.
If you need to use the phone
in countries that also have the US 1900 MHz frequency, get a
tri-band phone with 900/1800/1900 MHz.
If used in both the US and
internationally
Two frequencies are 'must
have' frequencies - 900 and 1900 MHz. The other two bands
are nice to also have, with 1800 MHz typically opening up more
of foreign countries than 850 MHz would open up in the US.
Ideally the best solution is
to get a quad-band phone with all four bands.
So why not simply buy a quad
band phone?
When we first wrote this in
July 04 we said 'there are only a very few
quad-band phones for sale at present, and they tend to be
expensive'. Happily, nine months later, quad band phones
have become a lot more common and may even be close to free when
you're signing up for new service.
We find the cheapest deals
for new phone service are usually those offered at Amazon - see
their ad on the left hand side (they have many more models on
their site, too). Bizarrely, the prices shown on the
Amazon ad are often much higher than the actual prices after
special offers on their site - for example, today (March 05)
there is a lovely Motorola V551 showing for $74.99, but clicking
over to their site shows that after rebates, you actually get
the phone for free and $75.10 cash back!
We are aware of the
following model quad band phones (if you know of other quad band
phones, please
let us know so we can update the list)
Geo
GC688
HP
i6315
Motorola
A780
V3
Razr
(but not V300)
V180
(note - some people report that Cingular
disables the 1800MHz band, but in theory
these phones should have four bands)
V220
V330
V400
V500 /
V501 / V505 / V525 / V551 / V555
V600
/ V620
NEC
515 / 525
Palm
Treo
600 / 650
Sharp
GX32
Xda
IIs
WARNING : T-mobile disabled the 850 MHz band
in some quad band phones it sells/has sold. As of Sep 05
it seems that most quad band phones they sell now have all four
bands enabled, but if you're buying an older T-mobile quad band
phone, check to ensure it supports all four bands.
Caution - Different definitions
of 'Tri-band Phone'
All tri-band phones
obviously (?) support three different frequency bands. But
they may differ in their choice of which three of the four bands
they support.
The two common variations
are :
900/1800/1900 - Excellent
internationally and very good in the US
850/1800/1900 - Excellent in
the US but not very good internationally
A look ahead - five and six
band phones?
Phones that support new high
speed data services - so called '3G' (as in 'third generation')
phones will generally have the high speed data service on yet
another band; typically 2100 MHz.
The market for high speed
data services is currently still evolving, with several
different technologies, each incompatible with each other, being
offered by different service providers. We'll comment more
on 3G issues when things stabilize into a clearer picture.
In October 2005, discussions
became public for developing a fifth voice frequency, in the 450
MHz band. This is being proposed for less developed
countries - the main benefit of 450 MHz is can offer longer
range and so, developing a low density coverage network would
require fewer towers and could be done for less cost.
On the other hand, a 450 MHz
handset probably would require a lengthier aerial, because the
lower frequency has a longer wavelength - the aerial would need
to be twice the length of a 900 MHz aerial and four times the
length of an 1800 MHz aerial to provide similar effectiveness.
As of the time of writing,
Nokia and Sony Ericsson have both indicated they'll make
handsets to support this new frequency band, but there are not
yet any known plans for service providers anywhere in the world
to start developing 450 MHz networks. When (if) they do
appear, they are likely to be in third world countries.
Summary
There is an easy answer to
the question of 'Which bands should my GSM cell phone support?'.
The answer is 'All four'.
But due to limited
availability and high cost, many people will prefer to choose a
tri-band phone. If so, choose the three bands that best
suit you based on whether you'll primarily be using the phone in
the US or internationally.
Frequency Bands by Country
(Looking for a country not on
this list?
Ask, and we'll add it.)
Country |
900 |
1800 |
1900 |
850 |
Afghanistan |
|
|
|
|
Albania |
|
|
|
|
Algeria |
|
|
|
|
Angola |
|
|
|
|
Anguilla |
|
|
|
|
Antigua &
Barbuda |
|
|
|
|
Argentina |
|
|
|
|
Armenia |
|
|
|
|
Aruba |
|
|
|
|
Australia |
|
|
|
|
Azerbaijan |
|
|
|
|
Austria |
|
|
|
|
Bahamas |
|
|
|
|
Bahrain |
|
|
|
|
Bangladesh |
|
|
|
|
Barbados |
|
|
|
|
Belarus |
|
|
|
|
Belgium |
|
|
|
|
Belize |
|
|
|
|
Benin |
|
|
|
|
Bermuda |
|
|
|
|
Bolivia |
|
|
|
|
Bosnia &
Herzegovina |
|
|
|
|
Botswana |
|
|
|
|
Brazil |
|
|
|
|
British
Virgin Islands |
|
|
|
|
Bulgaria |
|
|
|
|
Burma/Myanmar - 900 planned |
|
|
|
|
Cambodia |
|
|
|
|
Cameroon |
|
|
|
|
Canada |
|
|
|
|
Cayman
Islands |
|
|
|
|
Chad |
|
|
|
|
Chile |
|
|
|
|
China |
|
|
|
|
Colombia |
|
|
|
|
Congo |
|
|
|
|
Congo,
Democratic Rep of |
|
|
|
|
Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
Côte
d'Ivoire |
|
|
|
|
Croatia |
|
|
|
|
Cuba |
|
|
|
|
Cyprus |
|
|
|
|
Czech
Republic |
|
|
|
|
Denmark |
|
|
|
|
Dominica |
|
|
|
|
Dominican
Republic |
|
|
|
|
Ecuador |
|
|
|
|
Egypt |
|
|
|
|
El Salvador |
|
|
|
|
Eritrea |
|
|
|
|
Estonia |
|
|
|
|
Ethiopia |
|
|
|
|
Fiji |
|
|
|
|
Finland |
|
|
|
|
France |
|
|
|
|
French
Polynesia |
|
|
|
|
French West
Indies (incl St Barts) |
|
|
|
|
Georgia |
|
|
|
|
Germany |
|
|
|
|
Ghana |
|
|
|
|
Greece |
|
|
|
|
Greenland |
|
|
|
|
Grenada |
|
|
|
|
Guam |
|
|
|
|
Guatemala |
|
|
|
|
Guinea |
|
|
|
|
Haiti |
|
|
|
|
Honduras |
|
|
|
|
Hong Kong |
|
|
|
|
Hungary |
|
|
|
|
Iceland |
|
|
|
|
India |
|
|
|
|
Indonesia |
|
|
|
|
Iran |
|
|
|
|
Iraq |
|
|
|
|
Ireland |
|
|
|
|
Israel |
|
|
|
|
Italy |
|
|
|
|
Jamaica |
|
|
|
|
Japan |
No GSM service in Japan |
Jordan |
|
|
|
|
Kazakhstan |
|
|
|
|
Kenya |
|
|
|
|
Korea
(South) - CDMA not GSM |
No GSM service in South
Korea |
Kosovo |
|
|
|
|
Kuwait |
|
|
|
|
Kyrgyzstan |
|
|
|
|
Laos |
|
|
|
|
Latvia |
|
|
|
|
Lebanon |
|
|
|
|
Liberia |
|
|
|
|
Libya |
|
|
|
|
Liechtenstein |
|
|
|
|
Lithuania |
|
|
|
|
Luxemburg |
|
|
|
|
Macedonia
(former Yugoslav rep) |
|
|
|
|
Madagascar |
|
|
|
|
Malawi |
|
|
|
|
Malaysia |
|
|
|
|
Maldives |
|
|
|
|
Mali |
|
|
|
|
Malta |
|
|
|
|
Mauritius |
|
|
|
|
Mexico |
|
|
|
|
Moldova |
|
|
|
|
Monaco |
|
|
|
|
Mongolia |
|
|
|
|
Morocco |
|
|
|
|
Mozambique |
|
|
|
|
Myanmar -
900 planned |
|
|
|
|
Namibia |
|
|
|
|
Nepal |
|
|
|
|
Netherlands |
|
|
|
|
Netherland
Antilles |
|
|
|
|
New Zealand |
|
|
|
|
Nicaragua |
|
|
|
|
Nigeria |
|
|
|
|
Norway |
|
|
|
|
Oman |
|
|
|
|
Pakistan |
|
|
|
|
Panama |
|
|
|
|
Papua New
Guinea |
|
|
|
|
Paraguay |
|
|
|
|
Peru |
|
|
|
|
Philippines |
|
|
|
|
Poland |
|
|
|
|
Portugal |
|
|
|
|
Qatar |
|
|
|
|
Romania |
|
|
|
|
Russia |
|
|
|
|
Rwanda |
|
|
|
|
Samoa - no
service |
|
|
|
|
Saudi Arabia |
|
|
|
|
Senegal |
|
|
|
|
Serbia/Montenegro |
|
|
|
|
Seychelles |
|
|
|
|
Sierra Leone |
|
|
|
|
Singapore |
|
|
|
|
Slovakia |
|
|
|
|
Slovenia |
|
|
|
|
South Africa |
|
|
|
|
Spain |
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka |
|
|
|
|
St Lucia |
|
|
|
|
St Kitts &
Nevis |
|
|
|
|
St Vincent /
Grenadines |
|
|
|
|
Sudan |
|
|
|
|
Sweden |
|
|
|
|
Switzerland |
|
|
|
|
Syria |
|
|
|
|
Taiwan |
|
|
|
|
Tajikistan |
|
|
|
|
Tanzania |
|
|
|
|
Thailand |
|
|
|
|
Togo |
|
|
|
|
Tonga |
|
|
|
|
Trinidad &
Tobago |
|
|
|
|
Tunisia |
|
|
|
|
Turkey |
|
|
|
|
Turkmenistan |
|
|
|
|
Turks &
Caicos |
|
|
|
|
Uganda |
|
|
|
|
Ukraine |
|
|
|
|
United Arab
Emirates |
|
|
|
|
United
Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
U S A |
|
|
|
|
Uruguay |
|
|
|
|
Uzbekistan |
|
|
|
|
Venezuela |
|
|
|
|
Vietnam |
|
|
|
|
Yemen |
|
|
|
|
Zambia |
|
|
|
|
Zimbabwe |
|
|
|
|
Country |
900 |
1800 |
1900 |
850 |
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Note - this
table contains data believed to be accurate and current as of
Oct, 2007. You should verify any data that is essential
to your choice of phone, rather than relying solely on this
data.
Related Articles, etc
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Originally published
16 Jul 2004, last update
30 May 2021
You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.
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