Mobile Phone 5G Frequency Bands

There has been a lot of talk about the RF frequency spectrum that Mobile Phone 5G technology will use. With the first 5G-NR standard officially announced, network operators all over the world are conducting trials with the objective to deploy the technology commercially sometime in the next 2-3 years. Different countries have proposed and are working on different frequency bands that range all the way from 600MHz to 71GHz. In this article, we have outlined the proposed 5G Bands by country.

China: In China there are ongoing trials in the 3300 - 3600 MHz band with the possibility of the 4400 – 4500 MHz band and 4800 – 4990 MHz band also being used. At higher frequencies China is considering using the 24.25 – 27.5 GHz band and the 37 – 43.5 GHzband.

United States: The United State is leading the way in 5G R&D. At the lower end of the frequency spectrum they are using the 600 MHz (2 x 35 MHz) band, the  3100 - 3550 MHz band and the 3700 - 4200 MHz band. At the higher end of the frequency spectrum they are using the 27.5 – 28.35 GHz band and the 37 – 40 GHz band. Mobile operators in the US have already conducted trails in these frequency bands. The FCC has also opened up spectrum from 64 - 71 GHz for 5G use as well, however, there has not been too much activity in this frequency band yet. 

Europe: Countries in the EU are using both low and high frequency bands for the initial 5G trails. In the lower bands they are using the 3400 - 3800 MHz frequency band and in the higher frequency bands they are using the frequency band from 24.25 - 27.5 GHz. 

Japan: They are looking at using the frequency spectrum from 3600 - 4200 MHz and 4400 - 4900 MHz in the lower bands and the 27.5 – 28.28 GHz in the higher bands.

Korea: They were one of the first countries to start R&D on 5G Technology with the aim to launch it during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Feb, 2018. Though, they have not commercially launched this yet, they have made significant strides towards commercialization of the technology. They are currently conducting trials in the 26.5 – 29.5 GHz band.