vB Easy Archive - How important is 850 band

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How important is 850 band
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Posted by: jennisunshine

There are a lot of nice phones that are triband, is it *really* crucial to have the 850 band oin the west coast? SF Bay Area mostly...

Thanks everyone

Jenn

Posted by: KlamshellKing

i wouldnt get a phone without it. it will lower reception and SQ which is the purpose of a phone

Posted by: quint101

If you are going to Cingular, 850 is crucial... they are using 850 there (they *might* still be sharing networks w/ Tmobile which is 1900 only); if they are sharing the Tmo network and whenever integration is completed, your phone will be a dud since Cingular locks out roaming when native service is available.

maybe this thread will help

If you are going to T-Mobile, you can get away with a 1900 only phone, since Tmobile uses 1900 only. If you frequent rural areas, you lose roaming coverage on the 850 side. Try checking out where Tmobile uses 850 roaming here . If you dont frequent these areas, you'll be fine w/ a 900/1800/1900 phone

Posted by: operasam

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennisunshine

There are a lot of nice phones that are triband, is it *really* crucial to have the 850 band oin the west coast? SF Bay Area mostly...

Thanks everyone

Jenn

In the U.S. it is a must that you have a phone that can use both 800mhz (same as 850) and 1900mhz. This means you need a dual band phone (these phones are also called "digital only"). Don't even think about getting a phone that doesn't have 800mhz band access. Regardless of which carrier, or phone, you choose you will at some point need access to both frequencies which means getting a dual band phone.
T-Mobile and Sprint primarily use 1900mhz but both have roaming agreements that allow access to 800mhz carriers Verizon and Cingular. Verizon and Cingular both use 800mhz for the most part but both also allow roaming on Sprint and T-Mobile's 1900mhz networks. Most of the carriers now allow roaming on most plans at little or no extra cost (I use Sprint and all roaming is included).
If you travel anywhere outside of the immediate SF Bay area you will want to have access to both 800mhz & 1900mhz. Additionally the 1900mhz signal can sometimes experience difficulties reaching into buildings in which case having having dual band access eliminates any worry about not having a signal.

Posted by: infamo

Quote:

Originally Posted by quint101

If you are going to Cingular, 850 is crucial... they are using 850 there (they *might* still be sharing networks w/ Tmobile which is 1900 only); if they are sharing the Tmo network and whenever integration is completed, your phone will be a dud since Cingular locks out roaming when native service is available.

I can switch to tmobile, cellularone, and what not when i have cingular service. Living in PA and I have a SLVR, not the cingular version though.

Posted by: quint101

Quote:

Originally Posted by infamo

I can switch to tmobile, cellularone, and what not when i have cingular service. Living in PA and I have a SLVR, not the cingular version though.

In some areas, Cingular (blue and orange) often diasbles roaming on other companies' networks... in my area, whenever Cingular has a signal, I cannot force my phone onto T-mobile