In Australia Band 28 is the most important of all 4G bands. It is amazing how few grey-market smartphones and modems/routers have it.
Band 28 was for analogue TV transmission in Australia, New Zealand, and some Asia-Pacific areas. It is it now the main Australian 4G band.
But the situation is getting worse as we move to 5G. First, Band 28 is not in the major markets of the US, China, India, Russia, much of Europe and Asia. Second, it is one of the easily sacrificed Bands to get more 5G frequencies. As such there is talk of ‘re-farming’ it to 5G use – driving a wedge between the 4G and 5G world. That explains why most grey market phones from these regions generally don’t have it. If you buy a 5G phone then Band 28 is vital or you will spend most of your time on 3G!
In Australia 700Mhz Band 28 is the ‘golden’ frequency’.
First, let’s be clear – all three Telcos have bands 1 (2100Mhz) and 3 (1800Mhz). That is why dodgy grey market phone sellers can say “Yes, it works in [some parts of] Australia”.
Band 28 can transmit far further (typically 20km – 1.2x as far as band 5/850Mhz) and through more solid objects than the higher frequency bands. It is generally the only band you can reliably get inside a house or building. If it does not have it then that means only 3G coverage and very poor data speeds.
Telstra states,
“It provides greater coverage and in many areas of Australia, the only Telstra 4G frequency band in use at all. If you buy a 4G device without Band 28, it will have very limited coverage.”
It is is the backbone of the Telstra 4G network. Via Carrier Aggregation (CA) Telstra combines 20 MHz of Band 28 (700MHz) and 20 MHz of Band 3 (1.8GHz) for up to 150Mbps 4GX data speeds. Most Telstra MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network operators like Boost, Woolworths, and Aldi) have access at a 100Mbps cap. Vodafone and many other MVNOs can’t access it.
Optus’s national mobile network backbone is Band 28. But its faster Optus 4G Plus aggregates two 20 MHz Band 40 (2300MHz). 4GP Plus is mainly in CBD areas and not so much in buildings or homes.
Vodafone owns a small slice of it, but it is not in use. It uses Band 5 (850Mhz) for its primary coverage. Due to the slightly higher frequency, its coverage is not as expansive or good inside buildings or regional areas.
GadgetGuy’s take
Band 28 and 3/4G are still the only ubiquitous networks for a long time to come. And it is the ‘golden frequency’ for inside the home reception.
We reject any device without it, generally from the plethora of Asian makers that want us to review their ‘uncertified’ phones.
How can you tell if you have a Band 28 smartphone?
Most phones have the 4G bands printed on the box. As most grey market phones come shrink-wrapped and often in a white box that may be hard to find.
Network Cell Info Lite (Google Play) will identify the band in use when you insert a sim. It is not definitive as it can only show the band in use at the time. It will generally show Band 28 unless you are on Vodafone (Band 3).
Frequency Check may work if you have the exact model number (usually under Settings>About phone). Unfortunately, there are often multiple results, so check the closest, e.g., D/S is Dual SIM, Locked or Unlocked. Then check ‘Country’.
If you are keen, search Android settings for FCC ID and then search here. If it is in the database, it will list frequencies – you are looking for the frequency range between 703-733 MHz (uplink) and between 758-788 megahertz (downlink). Can’t find it? It is unlikely to have Band 28.
How convenient for the ‘golden’ frequency of 4G LTE Band 28 (700MHz) that forms the vast bulk of the lower frequency portion of the mobile network infrastructure for both Telstra and Optus to not be supported by nearly all phones apart from those phones specifically intended for Australia’s relatively tiny market.
This does look like collusion between phone manufacturers, Australian retailers and the telcos to ensure bigger mark-ups on the price of phones ‘tailored’ for the Australian market – by including Band 28 functionality that hardly any other region in the world uses.
As mentioned above, the lower frequency spectrum provides longer range coverage and better penetration of buildings but has lower data transmission speeds. The higher frequency spectrum is best for fast data speeds and all popular 4G phones (Oz and grey market) are compatible with one or more of the higher frequency bands that are provided by the Australian telco’s mobile networks.
At least Vodaphone’s Australian network offers 4G LTE Band 5 (850MHz) which is supported by all popular 4G phones (Oz and grey market) as far as I can tell. Vodaphone’s network has good coverage in the main population centres and many of the main roads in between but that is about all. Telstra’s and Optus’s larger networks extend further into the sticks.
The problem however that remains is whether the firmware in your cheap ‘grey market’ phone from China, contains the correct settings that would allow that phone to use 4G VoLTE which is needed for phone calls to be made using the 4G network instead of the 3G network which is rapidly being phased out??
I suspect based on some casual web browsing that Vodaphone’s Australian network does accept a 4G VoLTE network connection from ‘grey market’ phones, assuming all other aspects are OK e.g. an approved SIM. This may be due to Vodaphone using the same settings throughout the world?? The same then may apply to Optus but probably not dear old fat lazy price gouging you know who??
This link gives a good summary of the extent each frequency band is supported by the 3 Australian telco’s mobile network infrastructure.
https://oztowers.com.au/Bands