A network frequency band is something that you should know. In fact I think everyone ought to have an idea of what it means. This is because it is rather important.
Smartphones are communication devices. Inorder for them to carry out this function, they have to be able to connect to a network. When people think of the term network, they usually suppose that it is a uniform entity. It is not.
On the mobile broadband platform, network signals are separated based on frequencies. These frequencies are known as network frequencies (bands).
What is a network frequency band?
A network frequency band can be defined as a collection or range of frequencies. These bands are then assigned to different network operators or providers.
You can think of it like FM radio channels. Each channel is assigned a specific frequency e.g. Brila FM (Lagos) uses the 88.9MHz frequency while Independent Radio (Benin City) uses 92.3MHz.
Unlike radios that are tied to one frequency in a particular area, two or more network providers can use a single network frequency band. The difference here is that the SIM card of one provider is configured to accept the signal of that provider and ignore the others.
So if you have a situation where two providers like Airtel and MTN are both broadcasting on Band 20 (4G), an MTN SIM card would accept the signal from the MTN network tower and ignore the one from Airtel.
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Network generations
Each network generation has its own specific band of signal frequencies. The network frequency bands of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G are different from one another. In other to connect to these network bands, one needs to purchase a compatible smartphone as well as band-ready SIM card. For example, to connect to a 5G network band, you need a 5G enabled phone and a 5G ready SIM.
2G
Most network frequency bands of the 2G era were usually low frequencies with low bandwidths. This is why 2G networks were unable to carry good amounts of data. Thus they were very slow.
What they lacked in bandwidth however, they made up for it in reach. 2G networks still have some of the widest reaches of any network signal.
| Band | Freq. (MHz) | Uplink (MHz) | Downlink (MHz) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSM 380 | 380 | 389 | 399 | No longer in use |
| GSM 410 | 410 | 419 | 429 | " |
| GSM 450 | 450 | 457 | 467 | " |
| GSM 480 | 480 | 486 | 496 | " |
| GSM 710 | 710 | 716 | 746 | " |
| GSM 750 | 750 | 792 | 762 | " |
| GSM 810 | 810 | 821 | 866 | " |
| GSM 850 | 850 | 848 | 893 | North, Central and South America |
| GSM 900 (P, E, R, T) | 900 | 876 | 960 | Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. |
| DCS - 1800 | 1800 | 1784 | 1879 | Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. |
| PCS - 1900 | 1900 | 1909 | 1989 | North, Central and South America. |
The GSM 900 band is the most popular GSM band and can still be found working in places like Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
3G
The third generation networks made their debut in 1998. They jettisoned the use of the frequency to name the bands and simply just assigned them numbers.
3G networks operated at much higher frequencies and had more bandwidth. This meant that they were able to carry more data. The 3G era brought with it, the rise of faster mobile internet surfing and video streaming.
| Band | Name Freq (MHz) | Uplink (MHz) | Downlink (MHz) | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IMT 2100 | 1980 | 2170 | Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Uruguay, Brazil and Costa Rica |
| 2 and 25 | PCS 1900 | 1910 | 1990 | North and Latin America |
| 3 | DCS 1800 | 1785 | 1880 | |
| 4 and 10 | AWS 1700 | 1755 | 2155 | USA, Canada and Chile |
| 5 and 26 | CLR 850 | 849 | 894 | North an Latin America, Israel, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. |
| 6 | UMTS 800 800 | 840 | 885 | Japan |
| 7 | IMT - E 2600 | 2570 | 2690 | |
| 8 | E - GSM 900 | 915 | 960 | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Dominican Rep., Paraguay and Venezuela |
| 9 | UMTS 1700 1700 | 1784 | 1879 | Japan |
| 11 | Lower PDC 1500 | 1447 | 1495 | Japan |
| 12 | Lower SMH 700 | 716 | 746 | |
| 13 | Upper SMH 700 | 787 | 756 | |
| 14 | Upper SMH 700 | 798 | 768 | |
| 15 to 18 | - | - | - | - |
| 19 and 26 | Upper 800 (Japan) 800 | 845 | 890 | Japan |
| 20 | Digital Dividend (EU) 800 | 862 | 821 | |
| 21 | Upper PDC 1500 | 1462 | 1510 | |
| 22 | C - Band 2500 | 3490 | 3590 | |
| 23 to 31 | - | - | - | - |
| 32 | L - Band 1500 | 1496 | ?? |
The disadvantage was that 3G networks has a lower reach and would cover a lesser area than 2G networks did.
Recommended: LTE and 5G Modems on phones explained
4G LTE
The fourth generation of mobile networks showed at the beginning of the last decade and basically picked up from where 3G left off. The focus of 4G was mostly to provide more bandwidth for faster data connection. It retained the naming system of the 3G era. 4G brought with it, the rise of video calls (facetime), online gaming and faster video streaming.
| Region | Band(s) |
|---|---|
| North America | 2 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 66 and 71. |
| Caribbean and South America | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 28 and 41. |
| Europe | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 18, 19, 21, 26, 28, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42. |
| Africa | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28 and 41. Band 28 is only used in Nigeria (Glo) and Kenya (Faiba). |
| Asia | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 18, 19, 21, 26, 28, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42. |
| Oceania | 1, 3, 7, 12 and 20. |
Just like 3G, it operated at higher frequencies and as a result did not cover a wide area.
5G
This is the current generation of mobile networks. 5G is considered a huge leap forward but it is not entirely true. 5G is mostly divided into 2: sub – 6GHz and mmWave.
| 5G Type | 5G Band |
|---|---|
| Sub 6GHz | n1 to n99 |
| mmWave | n257 to n262 |
Sub-6GHz operates at the frequencies (700MHz to >5000MHz) that most 4G networks use. The name sub 6GHz means that the network frequencies here are all below 6GHz (6000MHz). The difference is that 5G technology allows for more bandwidth and a faster data connection.
mmWave is where the true next-gen power of 5G shines through. mmWave network frequencies are over 6GHz and bring with it incredible data speeds. The 5G modem of the Mediatek Dimensity 9000 can download at theoretical speeds of 7Gbps (785MB in one second).
5G also inherits the range problem that 3G and 4G has. It is even more pronounced with mmWave as the network transmitters have a really short range (1500ft/457m). Sub 6GHz however trades some bandwidth and data speed for a wider range.
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Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment
but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say
fantastic blog!