Band Information

Below is information on the different frequency bands that are used in Australia, as part of the cellular network. NBN is included as it uses 4G technology to deliver it's FW(Fixed Wireless) to people homes. NBN uses the 2300MHz (Band 40) and the 3500MHz (Band 42), to fun FW

700Mhz, Band 28

This has been widely sought after as is the "Water front" of all bands, as it is the lowest band available to the mobile industry in Australia. This frequency was once use by Terrestrial TV services, but with the introduction of Digital TV which uses bandwidth much more efficiently due in part to digital compression, as a result this band was freed and released to the mobile industry. It has 1.2x the range of the previous best band which was 850Mhz, and has great building penetration. The downside to 700Mhz is there just isn’t enough of it, so although you will get great coverage in many more places don’t expect gigabit speeds on this band alone.

Allocation of this band has been setup to be nationwide, Telstra owns the most with a 2x20Mhz block and Optus owns 2x10Mhz. Both Telstra and Optus both have fairly wide coverage of this band. Vodafone has purchased a 2x5mhz block of this band, TPG purchased the remaining 2x10mhz blocks at quite a cost paying almost twice what Telstra and Optus originally for the same amount. Telstra was prevented from participating in the final auction round as it already purchased the maximum allowable amount. Unsure how Vodafone and TPG merger will effect this.

850Mhz, Band 5

Originally this band was used for Telstra’s Analogue (AMPS 1G) network, once shut down it was then used for Telstra's CDMA network. Once CDMA was shut down it then made way for Telstra’s Next G network offering 3G services on this band. This band has great building penetration as well as great coverage and long range, although the range is not quite as good as 700Mhz. Telstra and Vodafone use this band with Telstra using it for 3G and Vodafone historically using is for 3G but is currently re framing it to 4G.

900Mhz, Band 8

This band was originally used for 2G GSM services in Australia and licenced to all 3 Major providers. This band offers a similar range to 850Mhz, however its building penetration abilities are not quite as good. Best demonstrated by Optus 3G customers often reporting non-existent indoor coverage, this has been Optus' main band prior to their purchase of 700Mhz. 2G services have been discontinued by Telsrra, Optus, Vodafone.

1800Mhz, Band 3

This band was originally used for 2G GSM services in high density areas to provide additional capacity. Having only around 0.5x the range of 850Mhz and no building penetration unless you’re standing by a window. This band is now used to provide 4G with additional capacity in high density areas as well as locations closer to towers allowing better utilisation of the lower bands further away. As there is much more of this band available than the lower bands, significantly higher speeds are widely attainable. This band was released in rural areas recently and rollout of this band in rural areas has commence in 2017. Telstra and Optus picked up the lion’s share of this band in rural areas with TPG and Vodafone picking up the leftovers.

2100Mhz, Band 1

This band was first used for 3G services notably by the now defunct provider '3'. Because of its limited range of around 0.4x the range of 850Mhz, in order to provide the same level of coverage significantly more towers are needed, so it was only economical to do so in high density areas. The flip side of that however is the greater amount of bandwidth available to such a network. This band has been available in both rural and metro areas since its first use and is widely deployed by both Optus and Vodafone (which merged with 3), less so by Telstra.

2300Mhz TDD, Band 40

Originally this spectrum was sold to Vividwireless to run their Fixed wireless WiMaX network, Vividwireless was later purchased by Optus. Much of the Spectrum has been reframed to 4G and has since become part of Optus' 4G network. The Brand Vividwireless still exists and now offers similar products but on the newer and more extensive Optus 4G network. Optus is the only mobile provider to use this band, however this band is also used by NBN to provide Fixed wireless services in rural areas. This band is perfect for providing fixed wireless services but can also be quite handy for mobile with similar properties to 1800/2100Mhz bands but with huge amounts of bandwidth, up to 98Mhz of continuous spectrum. TDD or Time Division Duplex is described below.

2600Mhz, Band 7

This band was sold along with the 700Mhz band and is setup the same way offering nationwide coverage. Telstra purchased the largest block with 2x40mhz possibly making up for their lack of 2300mhz which Optus owns. Optus has a 2x20mhz block and TPG has a 2x10Mhz block. This band is perfect for highly populated areas and it widely deployed by Optus, Telstra has only deployed in CBD areas and some regional centres.

3500Mhz TDD, Band 42

Owned by Optus, Telstra and NBN for fix wireless use. This band has not been widely deployed yet by Optus or Telstra however testing of this band is underway, and deployment has begun in late 2018. This band is highly sourt after as it is being used for the 5G network.

The information above was initially collect from OZ towers, but has been modified since.