GSM Mobile Phone Coverage Information

This page explains a bit about GSM phones, in overall terms, in order to help you decide whether a dual band, tri band or quad band phone will best meet your needs. Generally, tri band or quad band GSM phones will work in most places in the world. Dual band phones, however, are available in two varieties. The most common type of dual band phones (900/1800 Mhz) will work in Europe and Asia, but in the USA, Canada, other parts of the Americas, some of Asia, and elsewhere, you'll need a specifiic kind of dual band phone intended for those countries. I've included lists of countries below to help clear things up!Note that even where tri band (900/1800/1900 Mhz) phones are supported, such as in the USA, you may not have a signal in as many places as you would with a quad band phone. You can check your service provider's website, or contact their customer support for more information about the extent of their coverage on each frequency band.This can all be a bit confusing, and I'm not an expert on this topic, so please feel free to ask us any questions that you have!

What is GSM anyway, and what's all this about dual band, tri band, and quad band?

GSM stands for "Global System for Mobile communications". In the simplest terms, it's a "language" that mobile phones use to communicate. It's by far the most common language worldwide...however not all mobile phones are GSM phones. Whether you need a GSM phone depends on which service provider you sign up with. In the USA, for instance, Cingular and T-Mobile generally require you to have a GSM phone, while Verizon requires you to have a phone that speaks a different language called CDMA. With few exceptions, a phone that works with Cingular or T-Mobile's networks WILL NOT work with Verizon's network, and vice-versa.It would be that simple, except that different countries require mobile phones to communicate on different frequencies. Hence there are different types of GSM phones that can communicate on some, but not all, GSM frequencies. Almost all GSM phones fall into 4 categories: North American dual band, Europe/Asia dual band, tri band, and quad band. Dual band phones can communicate on two particular frequencies, tri band on three, and quad band on all four.This doesn't mean that a quad band phone is necessarily "better", or more powerful than a dual band phone...just that it can connect to more networks in more parts of the world. So if you plan to travel to countries that use different frequencies than your home country, you may consider getting a tri band or quad band phone that can be used in both places. The lists of countries below are intended to help you decide what type of phone to buy, depending on where you plan to use it.

What's a "locked" or "unlocked" phone?

So, you just buy the right type of phone for the network and country where you plan to use it, right? Unfortunately, mobile phone networks in some countries (most notably the USA) have made it even more complicated. They've decided they only want you to use the phone that you bought from them on THEIR network. So, they sell phones that are "locked" to their network and cannot be used on anyone else's network, unless you can "unlock" it (there are those who will unlock your phone, for a fee). So, when buying a GSM phone, you have to make sure it's either unlocked before you buy it, or locked to the specific network (Cingular, T-Mobile etc.) that you plan to use.An unlocked phone is preferable, since you're free to use it wherever you like, you can keep it if you switch networks, and you can sell it to anyone else (not just to someone on the same network as you). Rest assured that all the phones we sell are unlocked, and can be used on any GSM network that supports that particular phone's frequency bands.

What's 3G? How do I use it?

3G is the umbrella term for the newer "third generation" of wireless communication networks, which are still in the process of being implemented in many locales. The idea of 3G is to bring multimedia and the Internet to mobile phones. It lets you to do things like make 2-way video calls, watch TV shows and video clips, and surf the Internet at high speeds on your phone. In order to use it, you must have a 3G-compatible phone, and use a provider with a 3G network in place where you're calling from. Of course, the provider will charge extra for 3G services.3G phones will still allow you to make phone calls on regular GSM networks if no 3G service is available. Most 3G phones are tri band or quad band, and will work in the countries listed below where those bands are supported.The following are some lists of countries where various GSM phones should work, and where they won't work. We can make no guarantee that the following information is complete or accurate. Please let us know if anything is incorrect so we can update it. Data obtained from the official GSM Association website, GSMWorld.com.

All GSM phones except North American dual band phones:

These countries & territories use, at minimum, GSM 900 and/or 1800 frequencies. Quad band, tri band and Europe/Asia dual band phones should work in these countries. North American dual band phones generally won't work here:
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua
Antilles
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Barbuda
Belarus
Belgium
Benin
Bhutan
Bosnia
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
China
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Ivory Coast
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial
Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia (the country!)
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Grenadines
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Herzegovina
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Islas
Malvinas Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Jersey (the country!)
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Micronesia
Miquelon
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Nevis Island
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Principe
Qatar Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre
Saint Vincent
Sao Tome
Saudi Arabia
Senegal Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Tobago
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

All GSM phones except Europe/Asia dual band phones:

These countries / territories use only GSM 850 and/or GSM 1900 frequencies, so only quad band, tri band (900/1800/1900) and North American dual band GSM phones should work. Europe/Asia dual band phones (900/1800) WILL NOT work here:
Anguilla
Argentina
Bahamas
Belize
Bermuda
Bolivia
Canada
Cayman
Islands
Chile
Colombia
Guam
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Northern
Mariana
Islands
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
United States of America
US Virgin Islands

Quad band & North American dual band GSM phones only:

These countries / territories use only the GSM 850 frequency, so only quad band phones and North American dual band phones will work. Tri band and Europe/Asia dual band phones WILL NOT work here:
Caicos Islands
Ecuador
Haiti
Montserrat
Panama
Turks Islands

3G phones only:

These countries / territories use 3G service only. A 3G-capable phone is required. Quad band, tri band and dual band GSM phones WILL NOT work unless they also support 3G:
Japan
South Korea

No service:

These countries / territories have no GSM service whatsoever, or networks are still in the process of being rolled out. Until services are in place, NO GSM phones will work (dual band, tri band or quad band):
Burma
Comoros
Myanmar
Samoa
San Marino