Cellular frequencies
Encyclopedia
All cellular phone
networks worldwide use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum
designated as ultra high frequency
, or "UHF", for the transmission and reception of their signals. The ultra high frequency band is also shared with television
, Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth
transmission. The cellular frequencies are the sets of frequency ranges within the ultra high frequency band that have been allocated for cellular phone
use.
Due to historical reasons, radio frequencies used for cellular networks differ in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The first commercial standard for mobile connection in the United States
was AMPS
, which was in the 800 MHz frequency band. In Nordic countries of Europe
, the first widespread automatic mobile network was based on the NMT-450 standard
, which was in the 450 MHz band. As mobile phones became more popular and affordable, mobile providers encountered a problem because they couldn't provide service to the increasing number of customers. They had to develop their existing networks and eventually introduce new standards, often based on other frequencies. Some European countries (and Japan
) adopted TACS operating in 900 MHz. The GSM standard, which appeared in Europe to replace NMT-450 and other standards, initially used the 900 MHz band too. As demand grew, carriers acquired licenses in the 1800 MHz band. (Generally speaking, lower frequencies allow carriers to provide coverage over a larger area, while higher frequencies allow carriers to provide service to more customers in a smaller area.)
In the U.S., the analog AMPS standard that used the cellular band (800 MHz) was replaced by a number of digital systems. Initially, systems based upon the AMPS mobile phone model were popular, including IS-95
(often known as "CDMA
", the air interface technology it uses) and IS-136 (often known as D-AMPS, Digital AMPS, or "TDMA
", the air interface technology it uses). Eventually, IS-136 on these frequencies was replaced by most operators with GSM. GSM had already been running for some time on US PCS
(1900 MHz) frequencies.
And, some NMT-450 analog networks have been replaced with digital networks using the same frequency. In Russia and some other countries, local carriers received licenses for 450 MHz frequency to provide CDMA mobile coverage area.
Many GSM phones support three bands (900/1800/1900 MHz or 850/1800/1900 MHz) or four bands (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), and are usually referred to as tri-band and quad-band
phones, or world phones; with such a phone one can travel internationally and use the same handset. This portability is not as extensive with IS-95 phones, however, as IS-95 networks do not exist in most of Europe.
Mobile networks based on different standards may use the same frequency range; for example, AMPS, D-AMPS, N-AMPS
and IS-95 all use the 800 MHz frequency band. Moreover, one can find both AMPS and IS-95 networks in use on the same frequency in the same area that do not interfere with each other. This is achieved by the use of different channels to carry data. The actual frequency used by a particular phone can vary from place to place, depending on the settings of the carrier's base station.
approved in June 2003 the following bands to the terrestrial Mobile telecommunication IMT-2000: 806-960 MHz, 1710-2025 MHz, 2110-2200 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz.
The usage of frequencies within the United States is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). The US is then divided geographically into a number of Trading Areas. A mobile operator (or other interested parties) must bid on each trading area individually. A bidder can use the frequency spectrum for whatever purpose he wants. Go to Wireless Advisor for a listing of the network operators for a given ZIP-code.
The Cellular band (869-894 MHz) is divided into 2 frequency blocks (A and B). There are 306 Metropolitan Service Areas and 428 rural service areas. Each trading area consists of one or more counties.
The PCS
band (1850-1990 MHz) is divided into six frequency blocks (A through F). Each block is between 10 MHz and 30 MHz bandwidth. License (A or B) is granted for a Major Trading Areas (MTAs). License (C to F) is granted for a Basic Trading Areas (BTAs). There are 51 MTAs and 493 BTAs in the United States.
The AWS bands, auctioned in the summer of 2006, were for 1710-1755 MHz, and 2110-2155 MHz. The spectrum was divided into blocks: A blocks were for Cellular Market Areas, based on existing cellular (1G) licenses, and were 2x10 MHz. B and C blocks (2x10 MHz and 2x5 MHz respectively) were for Basic Economic Areas, larger than CMAs, usually comprising large portions of single states. D, E, and F blocks covered huge areas of the country, typically several states at a time, and covered 2x5 MHz for D and E blocks, 2x10 MHz for F.
The 700 MHz band was auctioned in early 2008 using spectrum previously used by television stations' analog broadcasts, with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility winning the majority of available spectrum. Qualcomm
and Echostar were winners of a significant amount of broadcast-oriented spectrum. Verizon Wireless has announced they are using the lower band of the 700 MHZ spectrum to deploy their LTE network starting on Dec 5 2010.
Currently the SMR
800Mhz band is used exclusively for iDEN
technology, however, Sprint Nextel
is planning to deploy CDMA technology on this band in the future. As of September 2, 2011, the FCC has approved several CDMA devices for use on the SMR band.
More bands are under consideration for auction by the FCC. These are currently used by DoD
, NASA
, and other government agencies.
Cellular and PCS bands are also used in other countries in the Americas.
GSM Frequency band usage is defined in ETS 05.05.
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
networks worldwide use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
designated as ultra high frequency
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
, or "UHF", for the transmission and reception of their signals. The ultra high frequency band is also shared with television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
and Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
transmission. The cellular frequencies are the sets of frequency ranges within the ultra high frequency band that have been allocated for cellular phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
use.
Due to historical reasons, radio frequencies used for cellular networks differ in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The first commercial standard for mobile connection in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone System
Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s...
, which was in the 800 MHz frequency band. In Nordic countries of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the first widespread automatic mobile network was based on the NMT-450 standard
Nordic Mobile Telephone
NMT is the first fully automatic cellular phone system...
, which was in the 450 MHz band. As mobile phones became more popular and affordable, mobile providers encountered a problem because they couldn't provide service to the increasing number of customers. They had to develop their existing networks and eventually introduce new standards, often based on other frequencies. Some European countries (and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) adopted TACS operating in 900 MHz. The GSM standard, which appeared in Europe to replace NMT-450 and other standards, initially used the 900 MHz band too. As demand grew, carriers acquired licenses in the 1800 MHz band. (Generally speaking, lower frequencies allow carriers to provide coverage over a larger area, while higher frequencies allow carriers to provide service to more customers in a smaller area.)
In the U.S., the analog AMPS standard that used the cellular band (800 MHz) was replaced by a number of digital systems. Initially, systems based upon the AMPS mobile phone model were popular, including IS-95
IS-95
Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95....
(often known as "CDMA
Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne, CDMA2000 and WCDMA , which are often referred to as simply CDMA, and use CDMA as an underlying channel access...
", the air interface technology it uses) and IS-136 (often known as D-AMPS, Digital AMPS, or "TDMA
Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
", the air interface technology it uses). Eventually, IS-136 on these frequencies was replaced by most operators with GSM. GSM had already been running for some time on US PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
(1900 MHz) frequencies.
And, some NMT-450 analog networks have been replaced with digital networks using the same frequency. In Russia and some other countries, local carriers received licenses for 450 MHz frequency to provide CDMA mobile coverage area.
Many GSM phones support three bands (900/1800/1900 MHz or 850/1800/1900 MHz) or four bands (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), and are usually referred to as tri-band and quad-band
Multi-band
In telecommunications, the terms multi-band, dual-band, tri-band, quad-band and penta-band refer to a device supporting multiple radio frequency bands used for communication...
phones, or world phones; with such a phone one can travel internationally and use the same handset. This portability is not as extensive with IS-95 phones, however, as IS-95 networks do not exist in most of Europe.
Mobile networks based on different standards may use the same frequency range; for example, AMPS, D-AMPS, N-AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone System
Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s...
and IS-95 all use the 800 MHz frequency band. Moreover, one can find both AMPS and IS-95 networks in use on the same frequency in the same area that do not interfere with each other. This is achieved by the use of different channels to carry data. The actual frequency used by a particular phone can vary from place to place, depending on the settings of the carrier's base station.
Frequency bands recommended by ITU
ITU-RITU-R
The ITU Radiocommunication Sector is one of the three sectors of the International Telecommunication Union and is responsible for radio communication....
approved in June 2003 the following bands to the terrestrial Mobile telecommunication IMT-2000: 806-960 MHz, 1710-2025 MHz, 2110-2200 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz.
Frequency bands used in the United States
| Current / Planned Technologies | Band | Frequency (MHz) |
|---|---|---|
| SMR Specialized Mobile Radio Specialized Mobile Radio may be an analog or digital trunked two-way radio system, operated by a service in the VHF, 220, UHF, 700, 800 or 900 MHz bands. Some systems with advanced features are referred to as an Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio, . Specialized Mobile Radio is a term defined... iDEN Iden For other uses of the word, see Iden The Iden was an English automobile manufactured from 1904 until 1907. Designed by George Iden, formerly of Daimler, they were four-cylinder 10/17 hp and 25/35 hp shaft-driven cars; each came with "Idens's frictionless radial gearbox".... , ESMR CDMA (future) |
800 | 806-824 and 851-869 |
| AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System Advanced Mobile Phone System was an analog mobile phone system standard developed by Bell Labs, and officially introduced in the Americas in 1983, Israel in 1986, and Australia in 1987. It was the primary analog mobile phone system in North America through the 1980s and into the 2000s... , GSM, IS-95 IS-95 Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95.... (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS), 3G 3G 3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union... |
Cellular | 824-849 and 869-894 |
| GSM, IS-95 IS-95 Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95.... (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS), 3G 3G 3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union... |
PCS | 1850–1910 and 1930–1990 |
| 3G 3G 3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union... , 4G 4G In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s... , MediaFlo MediaFLO MediaFLO is a technology developed by Qualcomm for transmitting audio, video and data to portable devices such as mobile phones and personal televisions, used for mobile television... , DVB-H DVB-H DVB-H is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. DVB-H was formally adopted as ETSI standard EN 302 304 in November 2004. The DVB-H specification can be downloaded from the official DVB-H website... |
700 MHz | 698-806 |
| Unknown | 1.4 GHz | 1392–1395 and 1432–1435 |
| 3G 3G 3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union... , 4G 4G In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s... |
AWS | 1710–1755 and 2110–2155 |
| 4G 4G In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s... |
BRS/EBS | 2496–2690 |
The usage of frequencies within the United States is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC). The US is then divided geographically into a number of Trading Areas. A mobile operator (or other interested parties) must bid on each trading area individually. A bidder can use the frequency spectrum for whatever purpose he wants. Go to Wireless Advisor for a listing of the network operators for a given ZIP-code.
The Cellular band (869-894 MHz) is divided into 2 frequency blocks (A and B). There are 306 Metropolitan Service Areas and 428 rural service areas. Each trading area consists of one or more counties.
The PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
band (1850-1990 MHz) is divided into six frequency blocks (A through F). Each block is between 10 MHz and 30 MHz bandwidth. License (A or B) is granted for a Major Trading Areas (MTAs). License (C to F) is granted for a Basic Trading Areas (BTAs). There are 51 MTAs and 493 BTAs in the United States.
The AWS bands, auctioned in the summer of 2006, were for 1710-1755 MHz, and 2110-2155 MHz. The spectrum was divided into blocks: A blocks were for Cellular Market Areas, based on existing cellular (1G) licenses, and were 2x10 MHz. B and C blocks (2x10 MHz and 2x5 MHz respectively) were for Basic Economic Areas, larger than CMAs, usually comprising large portions of single states. D, E, and F blocks covered huge areas of the country, typically several states at a time, and covered 2x5 MHz for D and E blocks, 2x10 MHz for F.
The 700 MHz band was auctioned in early 2008 using spectrum previously used by television stations' analog broadcasts, with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility winning the majority of available spectrum. Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
and Echostar were winners of a significant amount of broadcast-oriented spectrum. Verizon Wireless has announced they are using the lower band of the 700 MHZ spectrum to deploy their LTE network starting on Dec 5 2010.
Currently the SMR
Specialized Mobile Radio
Specialized Mobile Radio may be an analog or digital trunked two-way radio system, operated by a service in the VHF, 220, UHF, 700, 800 or 900 MHz bands. Some systems with advanced features are referred to as an Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio, . Specialized Mobile Radio is a term defined...
800Mhz band is used exclusively for iDEN
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone...
technology, however, Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
is planning to deploy CDMA technology on this band in the future. As of September 2, 2011, the FCC has approved several CDMA devices for use on the SMR band.
More bands are under consideration for auction by the FCC. These are currently used by DoD
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, and other government agencies.
Cellular and PCS bands are also used in other countries in the Americas.
Carrier Frequency Use
| USA Carrier | Voice Frequencies (MHz) | 3G | 4G | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 850 / 1900 | 850 / 1900 | 700 | |
| Metro PCS | 1900/ AWS | 1900/ AWS | AWS | |
| Sprint | 1900 | 1900 | 2500 | |
| T-Mobile | 1900 | AWS | AWS | |
| Verizon | 850 / 1900 | 850/ 1900 | 700 |
Most widely used channelization and frequencies
The following chart, courtesy of QRC Technologies, presents graphically the forward link (base station to mobile) frequencies and channelization most prevalently used in today's cellular communication systems.- Full Resolution PDF Version [External Source]
Frequency bands used by GSM
| System | Band | Uplink | Downlink | Channel Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSM 400 | 450 | 450.4 - 457.6 | 460.4 - 467.6 | 259 - 293 |
| GSM 400 | 480 | 478.8 - 486.0 | 488.8 - 496.0 | 306 - 340 |
| GSM 850 | 850 | 824.2 - 849.0 | 869.2 - 894.0 | 128 - 251 |
| GSM 900 (P-GSM) | 900 | 890.0 - 915.0 | 935.0 - 960.0 | 1 - 124 |
| GSM 900 (E-GSM) | 900 | 880.0 - 915.0 | 925.0 - 960.0 | 0 - 124, 975 - 1023 |
| GSM-R (R-GSM) | 900 | 876.0 - 880.0 | 921.0 - 925.0 | 955 - 973 |
| DCS 1800 | 1800 | 1710.0 - 1785.0 | 1805.0 - 1880.0 | 512 - 885 |
| PCS 1900 | 1900 | 1850.2 - 1910.0 | 1930.2 - 1990.0 | 512 - 810 |
GSM Frequency band usage is defined in ETS 05.05.
Other Regions
| System | Country | Uplink | Downlink |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDMA fff | China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... |
2300–2400 | |
| CDMA | Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
915-925 | 860-870 |
| CDMA | S. Korea | 1750–1780 | 1840–1870 |
| CDMA-450 | Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
452.5-457.5 | 462.5-467.5 |
See also
- 3GPP3GPPThe 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
- GSM frequency bands
- RoamingRoamingIn wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
- UMTS frequency bandsUMTS frequency bandsThe UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
- Dual-band
- Tri-band
- Quad-band
- 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction
- MicrowaveMicrowaveMicrowaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
- 4G4GIn telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
- 3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
(LTE) - List of deployed WiMAX networks