Purchase US GSM phone for use in Germany?

DRNewcomb · 24-01-2013, 20:55

For some reason many people find UMTS frequency bands very confusing. Cellular phones don't work on one specific frequency (e.g. 1,800,000,000.00 Hz). Rather, they work in bands that cover many megahertz (e.g. 1710-1785 & 1805-1880 MHz). These bands are commonly referred to by the approximate frequency they occupy. In the case above it's "1800 MHz" even though that exact frequency is not included in the band. Without getting in too deep and further confusing you, lets just say that UMTS band IV (a.k.a. AWS) is different from and not compatible with band I (a.k.a. 2100) even though there is some overlap in the frequency ranges.

If unlocked, your phone should work very well with a local SIM in Europe.

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DRNewcomb (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,465 Join Date: 27 Feb 2004 Location: Mississippi, USA Country:	24-01-2013, 20:55 For some reason many people find UMTS frequency bands very confusing. Cellular phones don't work on one specific frequency (e.g. 1,800,000,000.00 Hz). Rather, they work in bands that cover many megahertz (e.g. 1710-1785 & 1805-1880 MHz). These bands are commonly referred to by the approximate frequency they occupy. In the case above it's "1800 MHz" even though that exact frequency is not included in the band. Without getting in too deep and further confusing you, lets just say that UMTS band IV (a.k.a. AWS) is different from and not compatible with band I (a.k.a. 2100) even though there is some overlap in the frequency ranges. If unlocked, your phone should work very well with a local SIM in Europe.