You can connect to the mobile network using many bands, for example from 700 MHz or 3.6 GHz. Does this matter?
The most important thing is that you are consistently getting a good connection so you can make calls and easily use the internet. If this is all you are interested in, that’s fine. A good guide is the signal strength meter: anything in green is a good result.
If you want to dig deeper and wonder why you are not getting high download speeds then the band information is useful.
The low frequency bands: 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz go a long way – several kilometres – and can give a good signal inside a building. But they can’t carry much information so do not provide the high download speeds found in higher frequency bands.
Over 1000 MHz (1 GHz) the download speeds are higher but the signals don’t travel as far. Typical mid-bands are 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, the AWS bands, 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 3.6 GHz and 3.7 GHz. These frequencies find it more difficult to penetrate inside buildings.
The fastest download speeds come from high frequency bands like 26 GHz, 28 GHz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz. These are only available in 5G and are very rarely used. Only a handful of phones support them. They travel very short distances, often as little as a few hundred metres but can deliver speeds of up hundreds of Mbit/s.
So if you want high download speeds – perhaps to use a mobile broadband dongle at home – the bands shown are a good guide to possible speeds. If you are getting 5G over low bands like 700 MHz or 800 MHz the download speed will be restricted but the coverage should be better.
