GSM frequency ranges

Categories: GSM Standard

GSM frequency ranges or frequency bands are the radio spectrum frequencies that the GSM system for mobile phones operates on.

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GSM frequency bands

There are five frequency bands used by GSM mobile phones:

  • GSM-900
  • GSM-1800
  • GSM-850
  • GSM-1900
  • GSM-400
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GSM-900 and GSM-1800

GSM-900 and GSM-1800 are used in most of the world.

In some countries the GSM-900 band has been extended to cover a larger frequency range. This 'extended GSM', E-GSM, uses frequency range 880 - 915 MHz (uplink) and 925 - 960 MHz (downlink), adding 50 traffic channels to the original GSM-900 band. The GSM specifications also describe 'railways GSM', R-GSM, which uses frequency range 876 - 915 MHz (uplink) and 921 - 960 MHz (downlink). R-GSM provides additional channels and specialized services for use by railway personnel.

All these variants are included in the GSM-900 specification.

GSM-1800 is also called DCS in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

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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 is also sometimes called GSM-800.

PCS is an acronym for Personal Communications Service, and merely represents the original name in North America for the 1900 MHz band. Cellular is the term used to describe the 850 MHz band, as the original analog cellular mobile communication system was allocated in this spectrum. Providers commonly operate in one or both frequency ranges.

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GSM-400

Another less common GSM version is GSM-400. It uses the same frequency 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, or 478.8 - 486 MHz paired with 488.8 - 496 MHz.

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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 frequency used in urban areas with 850 as a backup, and GSM-850 being the primary rural frequency. In the United States, regulatory requirements determine which area can use which frequency.

GSM-1900 and GSM-850 are also used in parts of South and Central America. At least one country there uses 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 phone they have is compatible with the frequency of the network at their destination. Frequency-compatibility problems can be avoided through the use of multi-band, especially quad-band, phones.

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-1900 phones:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-850 phones:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-900 phones:

Some countries in the Americas that use GSM-1800 phones:

These lists are not exhaustive.

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GSM frequency usage in the rest of the world

In the rest of the world, with very few exceptions, GSM uses the 900 and 1800 frequency bands.

The GSM system initially used the 900-MHz band. Shortly afterwards the PCN network used the 1800-MHz band. Nowadays the PCN networks are considered part of the GSM system and many phones are dual-band operating on 900/1800 MHz.

GSM-400 has been implemented in Tanzania.

A few countries do not use GSM. These include Japan and South Korea.

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Multi-band and multi-mode phones

Nowadays most phones support multiple frequencies 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). European tri-band phones typically cover the 900, 1800 and 1900 bands giving good coverage in Europe and allowing limited use in North America. Just the same, 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 frequency groups, allowing for widespread usage in North America as well as the rest of the world.

There are also multi-mode phones which can operate on GSM systems as well as on mobile-phone systems using other technical standards. 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.

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External links