Not overseas?
July 10, 2011
Are AWS phones North America-only?
For 3G, perhaps.
But my understanding is, the AWS Nexus Ses can travel, otherwise — just at EDGE speeds.
Or do I need to get my iPhone fixed? May want to do that anyway, if only to sell it…
Categories: I am Canadian!, Technology
It is safe to say that almost any high end phone you buy today will have worldwide service on 2G. So at worst you would be stuck with dial-up modem speeds for your data.
3G service is another, somewhat more complicated, kettle of fish.
The frequencies most used for 3G service these days are:
North Am 3G – 850/1900
North Am AWS – 1700
Eu/Asia 3G – 900/2100
Eu/Asia AWS – 2100
Africa & the middle east follow European standards afaik.
South America is a patchwork, depends on the country.
so if you have a phone that supports 3g on 850/1900 it’s only good in North America, just like 900/2100 is only good in Europe. Some phones will support 3 or 4 frequencies. As far as I know Nokia is the only company that makes a penta-band (all five) frequency radio.
According to GSMarena.com (which is a great resource btw) the North American version of the nexus s comes in one of two flavours:
HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 – i9020A for AT&T (NA 3G & EU AWS)
HSDPA 900 / 1700 / 2100 – i9020T for T-Mobile (NA AWS, EU AWS, and EU 3G)
Now all you need to do is know where you’re likely to travel to and who offers service there (and on what frequency).
Remember when technology was supposed to make our lives simpler?