GSM/GPRS frequency question

[Jason Lee]

Ok so,
what i have found it that there are 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS networks.

900- older European/Asian
1800- newer European/Asian
1900- older US
850- Cingular and AT&T new stuff

(i think the above is somewhat right)

There is also a 400 MHz GSM but i do not think taht is used for phones.

I live in the US.
T-mobile's coverage is not good, about like Nextel, major highways and cities.
AT&T and Cingular's coverage stunk when they only used 1900, way worse than T-mobile. But now there is this new 850 and all of a sudden AT&T and Cingular have HUGE GMS/GPRS/EDGE coverage.

So here is my question:
If i get an i-mate or XDA II which only supports 900/1800/1900 how much of AT&T and Cingular's newtorks will I be able to use?
Will I only be able to use their original horrid coverage from the 1900 towers (then it would make more sence to go with T-mobile) or does their entire network support 850 and 1900?

T-moblie coverage in SW Missouri is not good. I want to switch from Sprint to a GSM provider so I can finnaly get a cool phone but I do need to have the ability to use my phone in more places than standing on the roof of my house. :)

I tried calling AT&T and Cingular... no big supprise. The guys on the other end had no idea what i was takling about...

So what coverage do I get if I use an i-mate/XDA II on AT&T/Cingular's network?

[Vincent M Ferrari]

If i get an i-mate or XDA II which only supports 900/1800/1900 how much of AT&T and Cingular's newtorks will I be able to use?
Will I only be able to use their original horrid coverage from the 1900 towers (then it would make more sence to go with T-mobile) or does their entire network support 850 and 1900?

...

So what coverage do I get if I use an i-mate/XDA II on AT&T/Cingular's network?

If it supports 1900 Mhz, you should get coverage whereever AT&T built out it's MMode network, and if Cingular is GSM in your market (it isn't in all markets), you should get coverage anywhere Cingular does, albeit I don't know how their data goes.

As far as I know, the only GSM networks that exist in the US are 1900 Mhz. I could be wrong, but I think that's the way it is. Good chance if you aren't in or near a major metropolitan area your coverage isn't going to be great, even if you go with AT&T because they haven't finished the buildout on their GSM network yet. :twisted:

Hope that helps...

[Janak Parekh]

As far as I know, the only GSM networks that exist in the US are 1900 Mhz. I could be wrong, but I think that's the way it is.
Sadly, this is no longer the case. I don't know if any reliable documented way of telling what part of AT&T's or Cingular's network a 900/1800/1900 phone will reach. Both of them do already have 850 networks, and rumor has it sometime next year AT&T will stop selling phones that don't support the 850 band. Have you tried calling them?

--janak

[Jason Lee]

Yeah, i called a couple of times but didn't get anywhere. I'll just have to keep trying until i can get through to someone who actually knows something.

I did notice that the new treo 600 GSM version supports 850/900/1800/1900. Pretty cool... very nice device. I just don't want to use a palm... i need a pocket pc for what i do.

Maybe i'll just wait a bit and get an EDGE phone with bluetooth. Coverage is very important to me, that's why i switched from Nextel to Sprint. I know they charge roaming when i leave their digital network but it is nice to know it's there when/if i need it.

With the addition of the new 850 range Cingular and AT&T have expanded their GMS coverage to about the size of their TDMA coverage. I was amazed when i looked at the maps. (Cingular's looks more impressive, they have it all one color) ;)

and so continues my quest for the ultimate all-in-one device. :lol:

I believe Sprint is going to carry the CDMA version of the original XDA which should be out sometime next year. It's better than the XDA but not as good as the XDA II, unless they change some things before release. Which would be very nice. But then that probably won't work on analouge networks so i'll be back in the same boat as Nextel. If i can only use Sprints digital network i would have better coverage with the new AT&T/Cingular GSM network. :roll:

I just need to be patient.... hmm... we all know how that goes when it comes to technology.... nEEd iT nOw!! :mrgreen: