gsm frequencies

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

I just picked up an old T28W, hoping to use it here in Rochester, NY with
Cingular service. It doesn't work -- so now I'm curious what frequencies
are used in what locations. Does anyone know of a map showing GSM
coverage by provider & frequency? Is there a feature on Nokia or Ericsson
phones that will tell me the frequency band of the current network?

For Rochester, NY with Cingular:

Ericsson T237 (GSM 850, 1900) is offered in Rochester.
Ericsson T616 (GSM 850, 1800, 1900) works in Rochester.
Ericsson T28W (GSM 900, 1900) does NOT work in Rochester.

Conclusion: Cingular GSM in upstate New York uses GSM 850.

An odd thing happens, though. The phone connects happily to a network
labelled "US 380" but then goes to "Emergency calls only" mode. I thought
that Cingular allowed roaming to other networks, but I guess not.
Somewhere I read that "US 380" is AT&T. Is that true? Why's it called
"US 380"? Since Cingular owns AT&T Wireless, why doesn't the phone roam
to US 380?

--tobin

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 22:47:05 -0800, Tobin Fricke
<fricke@ocf.berkeley.edu> wrote:

>I just picked up an old T28W, hoping to use it here in Rochester, NY with
>Cingular service. It doesn't work -- so now I'm curious what frequencies
>are used in what locations. Does anyone know of a map showing GSM
>coverage by provider & frequency? Is there a feature on Nokia or Ericsson
>phones that will tell me the frequency band of the current network?
>
>For Rochester, NY with Cingular:
>
>Ericsson T237 (GSM 850, 1900) is offered in Rochester.
>Ericsson T616 (GSM 850, 1800, 1900) works in Rochester.
>Ericsson T28W (GSM 900, 1900) does NOT work in Rochester.
>
>Conclusion: Cingular GSM in upstate New York uses GSM 850.
>
>An odd thing happens, though. The phone connects happily to a network
>labelled "US 380" but then goes to "Emergency calls only" mode. I thought
>that Cingular allowed roaming to other networks, but I guess not.
>Somewhere I read that "US 380" is AT&T. Is that true? Why's it called
>"US 380"? Since Cingular owns AT&T Wireless, why doesn't the phone roam
>to US 380?
>

If the carrier code wasn't defined at the time the phone was buit, and
it isn't in the sim, you get either a country name (because the
Country Codes for carriers have been place for a long time, they get
resolved). You T28 almost certainly predates AT&T's decision to go
GSM. So there is no entry in the ROM on the phone for carrier code 380
in the USA. I had a very old Ericsson (900Mhz) that in various
countries just displayed a pair of codes. One for Country, one for
carrier.

YOu may have to check with Cingular about why you cannot roam on AT&T.
It should be automatic at this point, but Murphy is alive and very
well thank you.
>--tobin

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Joseph wrote:

> The only GSM 1900 (which the T28W uses in addition to GSM 900) is
> T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless (if they serve that area.)

> Rochester no doubt uses GSM 850. Pretty much all the cingular markets
> use GSM 850 exclusively

Ah, this makes sense. I took the phone out the other day, and it worked
fine, although signal coverage was much reduced. I think it's
successfully talking to the AT&T Wireless network but not Cingular, which
jives with my experience with a tri-band phone. The T28W works in areas
where the tri-band phone displayed "AT&T Wireless" as the carrier but not
where it displayed "Cingular".

> also the Philadelphia area I believe use 1900. The T28W will no doubt
> not work in Rochester or anywhere else that cingular just uses GSM 850.
> As for which areas use what frequency go to wirelessadvisor.com and plug
> in a ZIP code.

Nice site. It shows tons of 1900 MHz coverage in Rochester, including
T-Mobile and two entries for Cingular. Another entry for Cingular is 800
MHz. I'm guessing that at least one of the 1900 MHz Cingular entries is
actually the re-named AT&T Wireless network.

Do you know if Cingular allows roaming to T-Mobile networks?

Tobin

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 12:54:06 -0800, Tobin Fricke
<fricke@ocf.berkeley.edu> wrote:

>On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Joseph wrote:
>
>> The only GSM 1900 (which the T28W uses in addition to GSM 900) is
>> T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless (if they serve that area.)
>
>> Rochester no doubt uses GSM 850. Pretty much all the cingular markets
>> use GSM 850 exclusively
>
>Ah, this makes sense. I took the phone out the other day, and it worked
>fine, although signal coverage was much reduced. I think it's
>successfully talking to the AT&T Wireless network but not Cingular, which
>jives with my experience with a tri-band phone. The T28W works in areas
>where the tri-band phone displayed "AT&T Wireless" as the carrier but not
>where it displayed "Cingular".
>
>> also the Philadelphia area I believe use 1900. The T28W will no doubt
>> not work in Rochester or anywhere else that cingular just uses GSM 850.
>> As for which areas use what frequency go to wirelessadvisor.com and plug
>> in a ZIP code.
>
>Nice site. It shows tons of 1900 MHz coverage in Rochester, including
>T-Mobile and two entries for Cingular. Another entry for Cingular is 800
>MHz. I'm guessing that at least one of the 1900 MHz Cingular entries is
>actually the re-named AT&T Wireless network.
>
>Do you know if Cingular allows roaming to T-Mobile networks?
The used to., and Cingular is 1900Mhz in Nevada in California on the
old PBMS network.
>
>Tobin

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 12:59:07 -0800, Tobin Fricke
<fricke@ocf.berkeley.edu> wrote:

>On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, matt weber wrote:
>
>> If the carrier code wasn't defined at the time the phone was buit, and
>> it isn't in the sim, you get either a country name (because the
>> Country Codes for carriers have been place for a long time, they get
>> resolved). You T28 almost certainly predates AT&T's decision to go
>> GSM. So there is no entry in the ROM on the phone for carrier code 380
>> in the USA.
>
>Any suggestions for where to look up carrier codes?

http://www.gsmworld.com and look for members' network information.
<http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml> It should state
what the MCC/MNC (Mobile country code/mobile network code e.g. 310-26
is the MCC/MNC for T-Mobile. MCC/MNC for cingular is either 310-15,
310-17, 310-41, and perhaps others. AT&T Wireless is 310-38 IIRC.
234-10 is is O2 in the UK. 302-37 is Microcell in Canada. Rogers
Wireless is 302-37
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