Quote:
Originally Posted by PhotoJim
My data stick is quad-band GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900), tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850/1900/2100). That's close.
We can pick on Europe a bit. If I recall correctly, there is still some Scandinavian coverage with GSM at about 450 MHz. I've never seen any phone that supports these frequencies.
1700 MHz spectrum is just being deployed here in Canada, and 700 MHz spectrum has been auctioned in the US and will be available for cellular deployment as soon as analog TV broadcasting is turned off in the USA. Canada will follow by a couple of years.
The only reason we can get every 2.5G GSM frequency on a device is that the world has stopped adding 2.5G GSM frequencies. There are no GSM radios that do 2.5G at 1700 MHz or 2100 MHz, so there's no need for phones to support those modes.
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I thought it was actually CDMA2000 that's deployed on 450 MHz for cheap Internet. It is deployed in about half a dozen countries though. Mostly former NMT countries.
DRNewcomb, ever thought of when 2G/GSM will be expired? We would then certainly need a device that supports all the UMTS bands in use. I see operators that are now deploying 3G on 900 MHz soon starting to cut down on 2G in that band. I guess progress has to happen at some point. We can't keep 2G around forever. Backward compatibility is why devices cost more to make every time a new band is added. I used to be in the camp of keeping the older services running back when it was just one or two bands used for 3G (2100 & 1900) but now it's just getting out of hand. We need to move forward. Sure lots of 2G devices will cease to function once 2G gets turned off but wouldn't they be obsolete anyway? Honestly, how many here regularly use phones over 7 years old, let alone phones that were out since GSM was 1st deployed (10 to 15 years now depending on country)?
Sorry for the rant. I'm going to miss my 2G devices like anyone else but I'm excited for the future of mobile development and keeping backward compatibility is affecting progress.