Travel Technology - 1900mhz-only cell phone usage in U.S.?

A friend asked this today:

"I am eying a cell phone that is sold primarily in Europe and doesn't cover the 850 mhz spectrum. I am on ATT and they use the 850 and 1900 spectrum, and it looks like most of the East Coast is blanketed in these two spectrums. Most US cell phones can use both (as well as a few others). I am wondering if using a cell phone that does use 1900 but not 850 would lead to very spotty coverage -- or if it's no big deal in the city, where I will primarily be using it."


Thanks in advance for any answers.

I used to be on ATT and the phone did NOT work on their system in Southern California. I have not tried it on my T Mobile yet...

Be aware that outside of cities, AT&T is in the process of changing to 850MHz to get better coverage (850MHz radio waves, being lower frequency, tend to travel farther per dB of attenuation, and the longer wavelengths may help them pass through trees more effectively). Coverage may be acceptable in some areas now, but you may find it works less and less as they continue with the change.

If I were in your friend's situation and had to pick between a sweet phone with great features versus one with a quad-band radio, I'd have to go with the quad-band radio. (I wouldn't do it happily, though--I'd probably also fire off a nasty letter to my senator, representatives, the President, and the entire board of the FCC lambasting them for not keeping in step with the rest of this world, though...:D)

It's definitely not a good idea to use a phone without the 850 band on AT&T. In some places you will get absolutely no signal, and in most others it will be marginal, especially indoors.

A European roaming in the US with a European SIM will do far better on 1900mhz GSM than an American (particularly one with ATT). The European will have access (albeit at inflated prices) to most carriers in the US, whereas the American will not have access to the competing carrier in most instances. TMobile is on 1900mhz. ATT is on both.

yes, AT&T is moving very agressively to increase their 850 range towers and not upgrading their 1900 range towers. The 1900 is quite bad in the cities, where it doesn't penetrate buildings well, or DOWN into the corridors of a bigger city. also as already noted the use outside of cities, the 1900 is of even lower penetration and poorer performance a bit, although, open flat areas work a bit better as does a lower user penetration. As great as a phone is, it doesn't help anyone if it doesn't work half the time or you get many dropped calls.