LTE and GSM frequency bands define the exact uplink and downlink MHz ranges a cellular device is allowed to transmit and receive on. Knowing which LTE and GSM frequency bands your carrier, modem, or router uses is the first step in choosing a cellular antenna and coaxial cable that actually cover those frequencies. This page gives you the full 4G LTE band table (uplink/downlink in MHz), the core GSM band allocations, and practical guidance on matching bands to multi-band cellular antennas.

What LTE and GSM frequency bands are

A frequency band is a defined slice of the radio spectrum that a standards body (3GPP for LTE/GSM) reserves for a given mobile service. Each band is numbered and specifies two ranges in most cases:

• Uplink (UL) — the frequencies the user equipment (phone, modem, router) uses to transmit to the network.
• Downlink (DL) — the frequencies the network's base station uses to transmit back to the device.

Bands are deployed in one of two duplexing modes. FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) bands use separate uplink and downlink ranges so the device can transmit and receive simultaneously. TDD (Time Division Duplex) bands use a single range shared between uplink and downlink, alternating in time — which is why the higher LTE bands in the table below list only one frequency range.

4G LTE frequency bands (full band table)

The table below lists the LTE FDD and TDD band numbers with their uplink and downlink frequency ranges in MHz. LTE bands 1–31 are primarily FDD (paired uplink/downlink); bands 33–44 are TDD (single shared range). Use it to confirm which bands your device supports and which frequencies an antenna must cover.

For TDD bands (33–44) the uplink and downlink occupy the same frequency range, shared in time. Band 32 is a downlink-only supplemental band used for carrier aggregation.

GSM frequency bands

GSM (2G) and its 3G/UMTS successors reuse several of the same spectrum ranges as LTE, which is why many of these frequencies appear in both worlds. The four primary GSM bands are:

Regionally, GSM 850 and GSM 1900 dominate in North America, while GSM 900 and GSM 1800 are the common pairing across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and most of Asia. Because GSM 900 overlaps LTE Band 8 and GSM 850 overlaps LTE Band 5/26, an antenna tuned for those low-band ranges often serves both 2G/3G and 4G on the same frequencies.

How to use band allocations to choose an antenna

Once you know the bands your carrier and device use, antenna selection becomes a frequency-coverage problem. A few rules of thumb:

• Low bands (600–960 MHz) — LTE bands 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 28 and GSM 850/900. These travel farther and penetrate buildings better, so they matter most for rural and fringe-coverage installs.
• Mid bands (1710–2170 MHz) — LTE bands 1–4, 9, 10, 25, 66 and GSM 1800/1900. The bulk of 4G capacity lives here.
• High bands (2300–3800 MHz) — LTE bands 7, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43. More capacity, shorter range.

A device that roams across several bands needs a wide-band antenna. Our multi-band LTE/GSM/4G cellular antennas are designed to cover the full 698–2700 MHz span that most carrier bands fall within, and many of our combo antennas (LTE + WiFi + GPS) add the GPS L1 band for vehicle and asset-tracking builds. Pair the antenna with a low-loss antenna cable whose connector matches your modem or router, and keep the run as short as practical to preserve signal on the higher bands.

If your deployment also needs to filter out-of-band interference, a signal booster or bandpass filter sized to your target bands can improve the usable signal-to-noise ratio. When in doubt about which bands a specific antenna covers, contact our technical support or request a custom quote — Data Alliance manufactures custom antenna cables to spec.

Frequently asked questions about LTE and GSM frequency bands

What is the difference between LTE and GSM frequency bands?

GSM bands carry 2G (and, via UMTS, 3G) traffic and are grouped into four main allocations: 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz. LTE (4G) bands are numbered 1 through 44+ by 3GPP and span a far wider range, from roughly 450 MHz up to 3800 MHz. Several LTE bands intentionally reuse the GSM frequency ranges, so the same low-band antenna often works for both.

How many LTE frequency bands are there?

3GPP has defined dozens of LTE bands, numbered from 1 upward, including both FDD (paired uplink/downlink) and TDD (shared) bands. The table above covers bands 1–44, which account for the vast majority of commercial deployments worldwide. Newer bands continue to be added for refarmed and supplemental spectrum.

Which LTE and GSM bands are used in the United States?

US carriers rely heavily on LTE bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 17, 25, 26, 41, 66 and 71, plus GSM 850 and GSM 1900 for legacy 2G/3G where it still exists. Band support varies by carrier, so always confirm against your SIM/carrier before selecting an antenna.

Do I need a different antenna for each band?

No. A wide-band or multi-band cellular antenna is designed to cover many bands at once — for example, a 698–2700 MHz omnidirectional antenna covers nearly all common low and mid LTE/GSM bands simultaneously. You only need band-specific or directional antennas when you are optimizing for a single band at long range.

How do frequency bands affect antenna and cable choice?

The antenna must be tuned to cover your bands' frequency ranges, and the coaxial cable must have low enough loss at those frequencies — cable attenuation rises with frequency, so a cable that is fine at 700 MHz can lose significant signal at 2600 MHz. For higher bands, use low-loss coax and keep cable runs short.