Can anyone tell me if california uses 850 band or the 1900 band?
Im in southern California and was wondering if anyone can tell me what band cingy uses for this state.
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Both. Cingular built the 1900mhz network first, and then acquired the 850 from att. They are currently building up the 850. Tmobile now owns cingular's original 1900mhz network.
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Not quite - Cingular uses both GSM 850 & 1900 - both are used actively, and the 1900s have not been sold off to TMobile. Due to the merger & network integration, there have been a great number of either AT&T wireless or Cingular towers taken down in areas where the network was redundant. Many of these extra towers have been repositioned elsewhere to expand the network, and some have been sold to TMobile, thus the confusion. If you have a phone that's 1900 only, you'll be fine throughout most of CA.
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Your best option would be to get a 850/1900 phone where you can take advantage of both frequencies. If you travel into the midwest, there is a lot of areas where you will run into 850 coverage. Since the number of frequencies rarely increases phone cost, you are better off to get the most of your cellular service.
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