Multi-band device

Motorola Timeport, the first tri-band mobile phone (1999)

In telecommunications, a multi-band device (including dual-band, tri-band, quad-band and penta-band devices) is a communication device (especially a mobile phone) that supports multiple radio frequency bands. All devices which have more than one channel use multiple frequencies; a band however is a group of frequencies containing many channels. Multiple bands in mobile devices support roaming between different regions where different standards are used for mobile telephone services. Where the bands are widely separated in frequency, parallel transmit and receive signal path circuits must be provided, which increases the cost, complexity and power demand of multi-band devices.

Quad-band

The term quad-band describes a device that supports four frequency bands: 850 and 1900 MHz, mostly used in Canada and the United States, and the common 900 and 1800 MHz bands.

Penta-band

The term penta-band describes a device that supports five frequency bands: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 and 1700/2100 (AWS) MHz bands.

See also

• List of UMTS networks around the world, and the frequencies and data rates they support
• GSM frequency bands, as defined by the standards bodies
• UMTS frequency bands, as defined by the standards bodies