4G bandwith groups & operators?

[bluesofa]

I'm rather confused about a report I've just in the press regarding DTAC and their 4G operation.

I read that despite failing to win 4G licence, they are about to roll out a nationwide 4G network on the 2100-MHz spectrum.

Can some expand on this, and is there a list somewhere of operators and which spectra they use?

[Pib]

This two articles may help, especially the first one.

http://www.yozzo.com/news-and-information/mvno-mobile-operator-s/thailands-new-telecom-structure-2016

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Who-are-real-winners-of-900MHz-auction-30275326.html

[casualbiker]

2100 and 1800 mhz.

[bluesofa]

Thanks for your reply and the links.

From what I can understand, DTAC are going to use CAT's allocation on the 2100MHz band for 4G? i do admit to finding it quite difficult to follow who's got what and who's using which band and whether it's 4G

The fact that the initial headlines were saying that AIS and DTAC had dropped out of the 4G auction, were referring to specific additional bandwith allocations then, and not just that they couldn't now sell 4G?

From what I can see, there are eight bandwith sectors ranging from 450MHz to 2600MHz?

Are all phones/smartphones capable of using all these bandwiths and will they all support 4G?

[RichCor]

Take a look at my post here and see if it doesn't confuse you further:

IPhone 5 or 5s support 4G LTE in Thailand?

Started by whimsy, 2015-12-28 17:44

Previously the big three mobile providers (AIS, DTAC and TRUE) 'rented' their operating frequencies (850 / 900 / 1800/ 1900 MHz) from either TOT or CAT through various contracts that also prevented newer 3G/4G technologies without renegotiating the contracts.

So AIS, DTAC and TRUE created subsidiary companies and bid on frequency spectrum not controlled by TOT or CAT, first in the 2100 (band 1) spectrum a few years ago, then just recently on 1800 and 900 MHz that had been returned to the government (cough, cough) for high-stakes 3G / 4G or G-agnostic auctions.

TOT and CAT still have control of some frequency spectrum that they are renegotiating to lease to mobile operators to increase their spectrum allocations available for their customers.

Each frequency spectrum allocation, known as bandwidth, can be broken up into sections by each mobile operator to support differential technologies. So while AIS may choose to run 4G on 1800, and 3G on 2100, another mobile operator may chose to split the spectrum into bandwidth 'slots' and run 2G next to 4G, and 3G next to 4G, depending on what their tower equipment is capable of doing.

The mobile operators are willing to lease additional spectrum under contract from TOT and CAT as the additional bandwidth when added to their own will allow faster download and upload speeds using 3G or 4G technologies. It's only now that TOT and CAT have been willing to allow 3G and 4G over their owned spectrum.

[bluesofa]

RichCor,

Well, that is absolutely clear and concise, listing all the spectra in the mobile band usage from the way I understand it. Very well done.

Believe it or not, I'm not clear on the very last point I made: Do (most) smartphones cover that complete bandwidth, or do individual manufacturers produce phones compatible with only some of those groups?

Am I right in my understanding that, apart the speed spec for 4G (say LTE 1Gb down, 500Mb up), different countries specify which bandwidth groups are used?

Therefore not all 4G capable phones will necessarily work in other countries?

[RichCor]

Believe it or not, I'm not clear on the very last point I made: Do (most) smartphones cover that complete bandwidth, or do individual manufacturers produce phones compatible with only some of those groups?

Am I right in my understanding that, apart the speed spec for 4G (say LTE 1Gb down, 500Mb up), different countries specify which bandwidth groups are used?

Therefore not all 4G capable phones will necessarily work in other countries?

You won't find a mobile phone compatible with all of the radio frequencies used throughout the world. But sometimes there are overlaps.

Do a Google search for Most Common LTE Bands ...and you'll find the following:

United States, Canada, Mexico and most countries of South America

2G - GSM 850, GSM 1900 MHz

3G - UMTS 850, UMTS 1900, UMTS 1700, UMTS 2100

4G - LTE 700, LTE 1700, LTE 1900, LTE 2100

Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East, Africa, and the rest of the World

2G - GSM 900, GSM 1800 MHz

3G - UMTS 900, UMTS 2100

4G - LTE 800, LTE 1800, LTE 2600

Mobile Phones are a new technology and most of the radio frequency spectrum available in each country was already partitioned out for other uses such as business, government, armed forces, or emergency services. Each country sets its own guidelines for usage, and sometimes some frequency segments are banned because usage causes interference with neighboring nations. Many of the countries have found ways to take back swaths of already licensed frequencies so they can resell them to the more lucrative mobile providers, but not always on common frequencies.

Wikipedia:

List of UMTS networks by County (includes UMTS/W-CDMA/HSPA)

List of LTE networks by Country

So trying to find a phone that works well in Thailand with your mobile provider, and a US or European provider can be a difficult chore.

Some mobile handset models are specifically designed to cover the exact frequencies supported by mobile provider. Still some, like Apple or higher end Samsungs, have the ability to talk on many bands, but most phones will only cover 3 or 4 different 'bands' to keep costs down.

Mobile Data Internet speed is primarily determined by 'bandwidth' of radio frequency spectrum dedicated to each 'network technology' deployed by the mobile provider. All the users connected to the same tower have to share that bandwidth, so congestion will drop the top speed. Also, some mobile providers may

dedicate an entire tower's available radio frequency spectrum to only 4G network technology subscribers, or 'partition' the available radio frequency spectrum and split it for use by 2G or 3G users (where their license and the technology allows).

[bluesofa]

RichCor, thanks for another concise reply.

I'd never previously looked in much detail about the mobile phone system on a country by country basis. Although I do have a technical background, I'd just assumed (foolishly) that, for example, GSM was GSM, was GSM, irrespective of which country you were using it in.

Befor I thought If you had a CDMA phone, then you couldn't roam abroad on a GSM network. I honestly didn't realise there where so many flavours within one protocol, as it where. Not like say, a USB device, which is design to work on any USB port it's plugged in to.

As you say in your post, because it's in the RF spectrum, there are national considerations to take into account, be it spectra already allocated to other groups, cross-channel or maybe even cross-group interference, etc.

[RichCor]

Even your example of USB has its issues.

For instance, while your mobile phone, set top box / TV, or toaster may have a USB Port it doesn't mean you can plug in any USB device and have it work without driver and software support.

USB is certainly better that the previous Serial and Parallel connectivity standards it's based on.