A handy guide to frequency bands used for telecommunication in India

Use of radio frequency bands of the electromagnetic spectrum is regulated by governments in most countries, in a Spectrum management process known as frequency allocation or spectrum allocation. Radio propagation does not stop at national boundaries which is why governments have sought to harmonise the allocation of RF bands and their standardization.

  • Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
  • Source of Google
  • Source of Google

A number of bodies work on standards for frequency allocation, including:

  • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  • European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT)
  • Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL)

 

Radio frequency bands are divided into 3 broad categories:

  • Frequencies that are not usable for commercial purposes and are kept reserved for radio astronomy and Defence forces.
  • Frequencies that are unlicensed and are open for personal or commercial use for free which includes 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, Bluetooth, cordless phones, etc.
  • Frequencies that are licenced by the government for purposes like telecommunication.

The frequency bands used for telecommunication worldwide follow an international convention where the ITU has identified 3 distinct ‘International telecommunication regions’ and each region has its own distinct set of frequency bands that it uses for telecom.

frequency-bands-telecommunication

Region 1: Europe, Middle East, Africa, the former Soviet Union, including Siberia; and Mongolia

Region 2: North and South America and Pacific (East of the International Date Line)

Region 3: Asia, Australia and the Pacific Rim (West of the International Date Line)

In the early days the number of GSM bands were limited to just 3. This comprised 900 and 1800 MHz in Europe/Asia/Africa and 1900 MHz in the USA. The cross-Atlantic GSM roaming breakthrough came with the Motorola Timeport in 1999 – the world’s first tri-band GSM mobile. Within a few years tri-band capability was being built into every GSM mobile. We have come to accept and value this universal connectivity. India has currently deployed operations or has future plans to deploy telecom operations in a total of 8 radio frequency bands as of now. Ahead is a brief description of each of these bands and their current and future use.