Single-band devices
What are single-band devices, how do you know if a device is a single-band device and what are the advantages and disadvantages of a single-band device?
A single-band device is compatible with one network frequency. In the whole world there are basically 4 types of cellular phone networks: 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 Mhz networks. You can find more information about these networks elsewhere within this helpdesk. A single-band device is only compatible with one of the networks that are described above. In the practice the most single-band devices are made for the 900 and the 1900 Mhz networks. In the beginning of the cellular phone only 900 Mhz networks existed in Europe and Asia and because of this a single-band device compatible for 900 Mhz networks was sufficient. In North America only the 1900 Mhz network is being used (it still is now) and as a result only single band devices compatible with 1900 Mhz networks are / were sufficient.
How will you know what kind of device you have? Basically I can say that if you bought your cellular phone before 1999 this will be a single-band device in 9 of the 10 cases. You can make a reliable conclusion when you look at the original box of your cellular phone. On this box is described with what kind of network your cellular phone is compatible with. If it only says "900 Mhz" or "E-GSM 900" you have a single-band device. If you don't have the original box anymore you can look this up in the manual. You can also conclude what kind of device you have by looking at the networks you can receive with your cellular phone. If you only receive Vodafone (Libertel) or KPN (PTT) in Holland you have a single-band device. If you only receive Mobistar and Proximus in Belgium you have a single-band device. You can find more information about dual-, triple- or quattro-band devices elsewhere within this helpdesk.
What are the advantages of a single-band device? Actually almost none. The only advantage is that the use of energy of your cellular phone is less then with other devices. This is because your phone only "listens" to one network. If your go abroad you will have a big chance that you can't even call with your cellular phone because the country that you're in isn't using the 900 Mhz network anymore. After all, 900 Mhz networks are quite old these days. Therefore a big disadvantage of a single-band device is that you can't receive all the networks there are.
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