GSM frequency bands

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GSM frequency bands or frequency ranges are the radio spectrum frequencies designated by the ITU for the operation of the GSM for mobile phones.

Contents

[edit] GSM frequency bands

There are fourteen bands defined in 3GPP TS 45.005, which succeeded 3GPP TS 05.05:

System Band Uplink (MHz) Downlink (MHz) Channel Number
T-GSM-380 380 380.2–389.8 390.2–399.8 Dynamic
T-GSM-410 410 410.2–419.8 420.2–429.8 Dynamic
GSM-450 450 450.4–457.6 460.4–467.6 259–293
GSM-480 480 478.8–486.0 488.8–496.0 306–340
GSM-710 710 698.0–716.0 728.0–746.0 Dynamic
GSM-750 750 747.0–762.0 777.0–792.0 438–511
T-GSM-810 810 806.0–821.0 851.0–866.0 Dynamic
GSM-850 850 824.0–849.0 869.0–894.0 128–251
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 1710.0–1785.0 1805.0–1880.0 512–885
PCS-1900 1900 1850.0–1910.0 1930.0–1990.0 512–810

Note: The table shows the extents of each band and not its center frequency.

  • P-GSM, Standard or Primary GSM-900 Band
  • E-GSM, Extended GSM-900 Band (includes Standard GSM-900 band)
  • R-GSM, Railways GSM-900 Band (includes Standard and Extended GSM-900 band)
  • T-GSM, TETRA-GSM

[edit] GSM-900 and GSM-1800

GSM-900 and GSM-1800 are used in most parts of the world: Europe, Middle East, Africa and most of Asia. In Americas it is in Bolivia (GSM-850, GSM-900 and 1900), Brazil (GSM-850, GSM-900 and 1800), Guatemala (GSM-850, GSM-900 and 1900), El Salvador (GSM-850, GSM-900 and 1900).

  • GSM-900 uses 890–915 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and 935–960 MHz for the other direction (downlink), providing 124 RF channels (channel numbers 1 to 124) spaced at 200 kHz. Duplex spacing of 45 MHz is used.
In some countries the GSM-900 band has been extended to cover a larger frequency range. This 'extended GSM', E-GSM, uses 880–915 MHz (uplink) and 925–960 MHz (downlink), adding 50 channels (channel numbers 975 to 1023 and 0) to the original GSM-900 band. The GSM specifications also describe 'railways GSM', GSM-R, which uses 876–915 MHz (uplink) and 921–960 MHz (downlink). Channel numbers 955 to 1023. GSM-R provides additional channels and specialized services for use by railway personnel.
All these variants are included in the GSM-900 specification.
  • GSM-1800 uses 1710–1785 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base tranceiver station (uplink) and 1805–1880 MHz for the other direction (downlink), providing 374 channels (channel numbers 512 to 885). Duplex spacing is 95 MHz.
GSM-1800 is also called DCS in the United Kingdom, while being called PCS in Hong Kong[1] (not to mixed up with GSM-1900 which is commonly called PCS in the rest of the world.)

[edit] GSM-850 and GSM-1900

GSM-850 and GSM-1900 are used in the United States, Canada, and many other countries in the Americas.

  • GSM-850 uses 824–849 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and 869–894 MHz for the other direction (downlink). Channel numbers are 128 to 251.
GSM-850 is also sometimes called GSM-800 because this frequency range was known as the "800 MHz band" (for simplification) when it was first allocated for AMPS in the United States in 1983.
Term Cellular is sometimes used to describe the 850 MHz band, because the original analog cellular mobile communication system was allocated in this spectrum.
  • GSM-1900 uses 1850–1910 MHz to send information from the mobile station to the base station (uplink) and 1930–1990 MHz for the other direction (downlink). Channel numbers are 512 to 810.
PCS is the original name in North America for the 1900 MHz band. It is an initialism for Personal Communications Service.

[edit] GSM-450

Another less common GSM version is GSM-450[2]. It uses the same band as, and can co-exist with, old analog NMT systems. NMT is a first generation (1G) mobile phone system which was primarily used in Nordic countries, Eastern Europe and Russia prior to the introduction of GSM. It operates in either 450.4–457.6 MHz paired with 460.4–467.6 MHz (channel numbers 259 to 293), or 478.8–486 MHz paired with 488.8–496 MHz (channel numbers 306 to 340). GSM Association claims one of its around 680 operator-members has a license to operate a GSM450 network in Tanzania. However,currently all active public operators in Tanzania use GSM 900/1800 MHz.

[edit] GSM frequency usage in the Americas

In North America, GSM operates on the primary mobile communication bands—850 MHz and 1900 MHz. Initial implementations were exclusively 1900 MHz, with 850 MHz being added in 2001. 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 parts of South and Central America, and both Ecuador and Panama use GSM-850 exclusively. Some countries in the Americas use GSM-900 or GSM-1800.

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.

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-1900:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-850:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-900:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-1800:

These lists are not exhaustive.

[edit] Multi-band and multi-mode phones

Today, most telephones support multiple bands as used in different countries. These are typically referred to as multi-band phones. Dual-band phones can cover GSM networks in pairs such as 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies (Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil) or 850 and 1900 (North America and Brazil). European tri-band phones typically cover the 900, 1800 and 1900 bands giving good coverage in Europe and allowing limited use in North America, while North American tri-band phones utilize 850, 1800 and 1900 for wide-spread North American service but limited world-wide use. A new addition has been the quad-band phone, supporting all four major GSM bands, allowing for global use.

There are also multi-mode phones which can operate on GSM as well as on other mobile phone systems using other technical standards or proprietary technologies. Often these phones use multiple frequency bands as well. For example, one version of the Nokia 6340i GAIT phone sold in North America can operate on GSM-1900, GSM-850 and legacy TDMA-1900, TDMA-800, and AMPS-800, making it both multi-mode and multi-band.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ OFTA of HK, Office of the Telecommunications Authority
  2. ^ Ericsson, Nokia Eye 450 Mhz (sic) GSM technology

[edit] External links