For all of us who love "cinafonini", we often come across the speech of the infamous "Banda 20" or simply called "800Mhz". In fact, this question is both simple and complex at the same time, and in this article I will explain why.

I don't want to bore you with technical data that most people (including me) don't understand, I intend to explain in a simple way what can be the inconvenience buying a phone that does not support this frequency band.

What is Band 20 (800Mhz)

The 800 Mhz band, also referred to as band 20, is one of 3 available with public auctions in 2011 for data transfer high speed 4G LTE. In the same auction, the other frequencies available were 1800Mhz and 2600Mhz. These 3 frequencies carry data at different speeds and different features. faster and suitable for very crowded places 2600Mhz, the fastest of which is 800Mhz which has extended range and penetration in buildings the best of 2600Mhz. The 1800Mhz group (perhaps the most used today) remains a good middle ground.

At the famous auction, 4 major Italian operators divided the frequencies as follows:

• TIM
• Vodafone Band 20 (800Mhz) / Band 3 (1800Mhz) / Band 7 (2600Mhz)
• H3G Band 3 (1800Mhz) / 7 Band (2600Mhz)
• wind Group 20 (800Mhz) Group 7 (2600Mhz)

From this table it is quite clear that whoever has it as an operator 3 Italy (H3G) You won't notice any difference between using the phone with or without a 20 range.

clients Tim and Vodafone depending on the work areas, they may suffer from a lack of bandwidth 20. Both operators, having both 1800Mhz and 2600Mhz at their disposal, in large urban centers and in all those areas located near the transmitting antennas, will not notice any differences , since they will "plug in" one of these frequencies, both in the countryside and inside buildings. especially "closed" reception in 4G can be compromised.

Different is the conversation for users wind that, being unable to provide a frequency of 1800Mhz, using as the main 800Mhz band. Thus, in large urban centers served on a frequency of 2600Mhz, sail in 4G while in all other cases, the maximum connection speed is that HSPA +

What is the difference between LTE Band 20 and HSPA+

As we said, 800Mhz speed is the slowest of 4G can in fact in Italy can reach 75Mbps downloads (while 1800Mhz and 2600Mhz reach 150Mbps). A step down is that the HSPA Plus (H+) connection can reach up to 42Mbps and will be accessible from any smartphone lacking 20 bands. These values ​​are a theoretical reference because the actual bit rate is almost always much lower. These speeds obviously depend on the quality of the signal that our phone receives. So not even sure if a 4G connection in band 20 is faster than one on HSPA+. That being said, having an 800Mhz group will always be better than not having it, but not having it doesn't matter in many cases.

imposition of a new

• It would be better to have a group of 20
• 20 Band (800Mhz) - * This is the slowest of 4G * Covers long distances * Penetrates buildings better
• Band 7 (2600Mhz) - * This is the fastest of 4G and is suitable for crowded areas * Covers less distances * Difficult to penetrate buildings
• Band 3 (1800Mhz) - * Medium path between 800Mhz and 2600Mhz
• In major urban centers, the band used by all operators is 2600Mhz, so no operator should have difficulty watching LTE
• In the current state of Italian mobile networks browsing in HSPA+ instead of LTE on the 800Mhz band does not compromise browser performance and may not make any difference.

Among other things, the merger between H3G and Wind has recently become official, so a new operator will soon appear, which will probably use all the frequencies available for 2. In this case, even former Wind users can benefit from the 1800Mhz band.

Quick answer: 800 megahertz in modern processors is normal. Moreover, this is a very cool feature, not a device failure. Electricity consumption in this "reduced" mode is minimal. And as soon as all the blatant power of 2-4 gigahertz is needed, the processor will give them out instantly, or even add another 300-500 MHz to the nominal frequency. By the way, he will add it himself.

But why is the processor frequency sometimes reduced to "indecent" 800 megahertz?

What is a CPU, is it a processor?

One of the key devices of any computer (and near-computer monster such as a smartphone, TV, and even WiFi router) is the CPU. This is a chip with an area of ​​​​a matchbox, and in thickness - a couple of matches. Laptops have even less CPU. In phones, the processor area is generally comparable to a penny coin. CPU, by the way, is the standard abbreviation for a processor, "Central Processor Unit". Russian analogue - CPU, "central processing unit".

The task of the processor: calculations. Everything that happens on the PC screen, and everything that is hidden somewhere in the depths " iron box” are numeric conversions, and nothing more. Even a letter on a monitor is not just a letter; is the symbol represented by:

1. Numeric code
2. Color and font with a specific digital designation
3. Points on the screen that have their own numerical coordinates

The above is only an incomplete example of calculations for only one letter, with which the CPU works.

What is the frequency of the processor and how to understand this characteristic?

Clock frequency(in simple terms) - the number of simple digital operations that the processor can perform per second. 2.5 gigahertz = 2.5 billion addition, subtraction or multiplication of prime numbers. Frequency is one of the many characteristics of the CPU, but far from the only one. The higher the frequency, the more more powerful processor. But - it is "in principle".

The truck engine is many times more powerful and larger than the 3-4-cylinder passenger car engine. But faster and more dynamic is a passenger car. Same with CPU speed.

Let's look at an example. The more powerful the engine of the car - the faster this car? This is far from true. For example, the Kamaz engine is many times more powerful than the engine of a passenger car. Which of the two cars is faster? That's right, the small car will easily leave behind a multi-ton colossus despite all the hundreds of KAMAZ "horses". So it is with the frequency - the more powerful, the faster the computer. But only under otherwise equal conditions.

Typical processor frequencies have not "growth" for 10-15 years. As the Pentium 4 appeared at one time with their 3-3.4 GHz, these frequencies remained a kind of standard for productive systems. Further growth of this characteristic only leads to an exorbitant increase in heat release and energy consumption - this is the law. And who needs a computer that eats electricity like a vacuum cleaner? And with the heat dissipation of a small iron? A laptop that can work without an outlet for no more than half an hour is also a strange device.

Therefore, the creators of processors (primarily from Intel and AMD) are working on strengthening other characteristics of the CPU. The number of the smallest "organs" of the processor - transistors - increases, while their size decreases; delays between individual CPU blocks are categorically reduced - this is progress in computer performance. The banal increase in clock frequency has long exhausted itself. Why is that? Plants need water and sun - but they are good only up to certain limits. If you pour water on a flower, it will die. If you plant a rose in the desert, it will burn. So the processor frequency is good only up to a reasonable limit, and then harmful.

My computer is running at 800 megahertz - what should I do?

Rejoice in progress computer technology and for having a decent modern PC. After all, the processors of our time (from about 2007-2008) are such powerful devices that most often there is simply nothing to load them with. Excess power is needed only at times of high computer load. Just as a truck doesn't need hundreds of horsepower when it's only carrying a driver without a load, the extra gigahertz wastes electricity (and godlessly drains laptop battery).

800 megahertz of the processor (in the screenshot it is 798.1 at all) is the most modern technology for lowering power consumption.

Processor designers decided to “dump” extra frequencies when the computer does not need them. Have you moved away from the keyboard and mouse? In a minute, the operating system will “understand” that it is possible to turn off excess resources, and after another 50-100 nanoseconds (nano!) It will lower the processor frequency. It took power (for example, when opening a browser, page, or even the usual Notepad) - and after the same 50-100 ns, the frequency jumped from an obscenely weak 800 MHz to the classic 2-3 GHz. Almost instantly.

Electricity is saved, fans run quieter, laptops last longer - these are some of the benefits of instant clock speed reduction. Disadvantages of down frequency technology? They don't exist at all!

Why exactly 800 MHz?

This minimum frequency is convenient for both processor creators and manufacturers. motherboards along with other computer equipment. The standard 800 megahertz as a reduced frequency of a computer is like 220 outlet volts and 50 of the same outlet hertz.

Moreover, operating systems It is "more convenient" to work with sufficiently fast processors. Minimum Requirements Windows 7 (and the modern "tens") are still the same 800 megahertz. If the CPU "throws" the frequency to a lower one, the OS can mistakenly "think" that there are not enough resources for its comfortable work - and stop working.

Modern clock frequencies: there is practically no “nominal”!

Finally - about the "nominal frequency" of the processor. This characteristic is declared by the manufacturer for each processor model. Let's say modern Intel Core i5 6500 (Skylake generation) has:

• 4 cores;
• 6 megabytes of L3 cache;
• integrated video card graphics core) HD 530 generation;
• 14 nanometer transistors (the smaller, the better and more modern)
• "base" clock frequency of 3.2 gigahertz (= 3200 MHz);
• heat dissipation - 65 watts (the less - more economical and "colder");
• a bunch of great technologies like Intel SpeedStep.

It is this floating frequency technology called Speed ​​Step that is responsible for lowering the frequency to 800 megahertz. But even more interesting is that the same technology automatically “overclocks” the processor from a nominal 3.2 up to 3.6 gigahertz when the computer needs more power.

Processor frequency monitoring: base - 3.33 MHz, but in this moment Intel technology SpeedStep increased the frequency to 3.46 MHz. During idle, the frequency will drop to 800 MHz.

Typical Speed ​​Step scenarios:

• the processor is not really loaded (works text editor, an audio player and a couple of messengers) - the frequency drops to 800 MHz;
• several tabs are open in the browser, the processor needs more power on 1-2 cores out of 4 - it is working at a nominal 3 gigahertz;
• The CPU is loaded at full capacity - you can increase the frequency to 3.6 GHz (if 1 core is loaded) or at least up to 3.3 GHz (if all 4 cores are loaded). Yes, power consumption will increase - but within acceptable limits. And most importantly, a complex resource-intensive task will be completed faster (and then it will be possible to lower the frequency to the “energy-saving” 800 megahertz).

Once again, we note: switching frequencies is automatic, user reaction is not required. The rise or fall in frequency is an almost instantaneous process: faster than the blink of an eye. Moreover, with each new generation of processors, the frequency switching moment decreases - in the short term, the delay time will be reduced from 50-100 nanoseconds to 25-30 ns.

Results

Frequencies are reduced not only for processors, but also for video cards and other components of computer systems. Reduced to save electricity and reduce heat generation. This is a normal procedure, which not only should not cause concern - this is a reason to be proud of the scientific and technological progress of mankind and evolution CPUs in particular.

The economic situation and the inability to fully use the 800 MHz band are forcing operators to actively develop 4G in the 1800 MHz frequency band. Moreover, most experts believe that by 2020 up to 50% of all coverage will be provided precisely by LTE 1800. The economic efficiency of this range compared to 2600 MHz is much higher, and the costs are minimal. About how operators are engaged in "smart refarming" of GSM in LTE in practice, what advantages and disadvantages this brings, we found out from MTS technical specialists in the Urals.

Currently, 4G networks in Russia operate in 83 out of 85 regions. Moreover, in the vast majority of territories, LTE operates in the 2600 MHz band. And only in 15 regions there are test or commercial 4G 1800 MHz networks (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Tula regions, Krasnodar Territory, Bashkiria, Tatarstan). In the Urals, there are examples of commercial use of this standard in the Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Motiv operator), as well as in the Chelyabinsk region (MTS). And if in the case of "Motive" the reasons for using the GSM spectrum are clear - the company does not have a license to use frequencies of either 800 MHz or 2600 MHz, then MTS's activity may seem strange. Although the oddity in this case is understandable.

Distribution of LTE networks in the world by bands (analysis of the 400 largest LTE networks, data from OVUM and GSMA):

Here are the reasons for such activity given in the MTS itself. First, the economy. LTE 1800 is much cheaper and more efficient.

Action area base station operating at "voice" frequencies of 1800 MHz, four times more than the equipment at 2500-2700 MHz, and the use of this equipment for the development of data networks will allow deploying networks in the shortest possible time, because the same territory can be covered with less the number of base stations. At the same time, the LTE-1800 signal penetrates indoors better than the signal of base stations operating in higher ranges. The increased range of radio coverage makes it possible to provide a high-speed 4G network to remote settlements, highways, as well as areas with frequency restrictions, - says Konstantin Kubantsev, technical director of the Chelyabinsk branch of MTS.

Spectrum aggregation of 1800 and 2600 MHz, in the presence of a 10 MHz bandwidth in each of the two bands, allows increasing peak data rates from 75 Mbps to 150 Mbps, and in the case of aggregation of three carriers at once - up to 225 Mbps. In April 2015, MTS tests in Bashkortostan at frequencies of 1800+2600+800 MHz with a total bandwidth of up to 35 MHz demonstrated peak speeds of up to 260 Mbps.

According to estimates by telecom equipment manufacturers and companies providing a radio network optimization service based on geolocation of subscribers, up to 80% of traffic is generated indoors. This fact clearly gives an advantage to the 1800 range over 2600 MHz. The room penetration loss for 1800 MHz is significantly lower than for the 2600 band. Traffic will be collected better by the band with better penetration. The difference between WCDMA2100 and DCS1800 is quite noticeable, but due to the more sensitive 3G terminals on average, the difference is leveled.

The LTE-1800 standard supports up to 90% of LTE device models from leading manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung, HTC, Huawei, LG, Nokia, Sony, ZTE and others. With its development in Russia, owners of gadgets that do not support other LTE bands common in the country, such as iPhone 5, iPad mini, can also use 4G Internet.

If we continue the comparison, then according to Konstantin Kubantsev, LTE-2600 aggravates the already tense situation with the search for additional objects on which equipment is required to be installed. "In cities, there are very few buildings that we can go to and get permission to install equipment from the owners. We are constantly faced with refusals. Negotiations can take more than one year."

As a result, the company decided that LTE-2600 will be used in the largest cities in areas of the greatest load on Internet traffic. True, in this case, it is necessary to resolve issues related to ensuring a stable signal indoors, including using indoor coverage.

In other cases, LTE-1800 will be used. Under it, you do not have to change the existing infrastructure, make serious investments in the construction of new base stations and spend a lot of time.

Distribution of income from Russian operators mobile communications by traffic type:

As a result, the main volume of base stations in the regions in a few years will fall on dual-band networks - 1800/2600 MHz or LTE800/2600 MHz, depending on the availability of frequency resources in each specific region.

The second reason for the growth of interest on the part of MTS is the restriction on the use of the 800 MHz band. Despite the fact that the operator has received the appropriate frequency assignments and is already paying for the lease, their implementation is hampered by the operation of missile defense systems, as well as the operation of military and civilian airfields. Existing regulations do not allow the use of frequencies within a radius of 40 km from airports. Operators all over Russia face this problem to the same extent.

Questions of the full use of the 800 MHz band are quite acute. We are actively discussing problems with the Ministry of Communications. Literally, yesterday, as part of our communication, our proposals were handed over to Deputy Minister Dmitry Alkhazov, who oversees these issues in the government. He promised to help. Well, in the meantime, we are trying to work in the conditions that we have now, - says Konstantin Kubantsev.

When asked why the Chelyabinsk region became the first region in the Urals, where the operator began to massively launch LTE-1800, the company replied that a year ago it was in the Southern Urals that the complete network upgrade was completed. During this time, Motorola equipment, which had been operating for almost 10 years, was replaced by Ericsson of the most modern generation with widespread support for LTE-1800. Not a single old amplifier, switch or switch remained on the network. At the same time, the capacity of the backbone network was expanded.

All this allowed us to use a multi-standard 3G/LTE network. Moreover, priority for data transmission will be given to LTE. Thus, we will offload our 3G networks, - says Konstantin Kubantsev.

Under LTE-1800 in the Chelyabinsk region, MTS allocated a 5 MHz band out of the available 15. According to the operator's technical specialists, this band is enough for the existing number of 4G subscribers. At the same time, the quality of the 2G network and its capacity will not suffer. In the future, the company will analyze the possibility of increasing the frequency band to 10 MHz in each specific locality.

As for 4G sharing with Beeline, MTS emphasized that the agreements concern exclusively LTE800/2600 MHz networks. Only the company's own subscribers will have access to LTE1800.

At the moment, the dual-band network is already operating in twenty settlements of the Chelyabinsk region, in particular, in Zlatoust, Miass, as well as in small towns such as Ozersk, Troitsk, Satka, Yemanzhelinsk, and in places of summer recreation for residents and guests of the region - on the lake Uvilda and others. Also in 2015 LTE network-1800 will be launched in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk to improve indoor 4G coverage.

In the near future, MTS is going to introduce the Single RAN (Single Radio Access Network) platform with the ability to organize coverage of all GSM standards, 3G and LTE with one base station.

Development of standards GSM 900, GSM E900, GSM 1800 contributed to the improvement of communication channels, but did not solve the problem of access to the Internet at the level required by a modern person.

These standards belonged to the second generation (2G), in which EDGE and GPRS protocols were used for data transmission, which made it possible to achieve speeds of up to 473.6 Kbps - catastrophically low for a modern user.

To date standards cellular communication one of the most important requirements is data transfer rate and signal purity. Obviously, this affects the development of the mobile operator market. So at one time 3G networks appeared in Russia, which won the massive attention of users. And now it is for this reason that the number of people who choose 4G is increasing.

Feature of the UMTS standard

The main feature that distinguishes the UMTS standard from GSM is that the use of WCDMA, HSPA +, HSDPA protocols allows users to access better mobile Internet. At speeds from 2 to 21 Mbps, you can not only transfer more data, but even make video calls.

UMTS covers more than 120 largest Russian cities. This is the standard in which the currently popular mobile operators(MTS, Beeline, MegaFon and Skylink) provide 3G Internet service.

It's no secret that high frequencies are more efficient for data exchange. However, in Russia there are some nuances that make it impossible to use in some regions, for example, the UMTS frequency of 2100 MHz.

The reason is simple: frequency UMTS 2100, which is actively used for 3G Internet, quickly sits down on obstacles. This means that not only distances to base stations interfere with a high-quality signal, but also increased vegetation. In addition, some regions are practically closed for this frequency due to the operation of air defense systems. So, in the South-Western part of the Moscow region, several military bases are located, and, accordingly, an unspoken taboo has been introduced on the use of this frequency.

In such a situation, for 3G Internet, UMTS 900. Waves in this frequency range have a higher penetrating power. At the same time, at this frequency, the data transfer rate rarely reaches 10 Mbps. However, if you consider that even a few years ago in many cities they could not even think about Internet coverage, this is not so bad.

At the moment, Huawei E352 and a more stable version of E352b, as well as E372, E353, E3131, B970b, B260a, E367, E392, E3276 are showing excellent results with the popular UMTS900.

LTE: in what bands will the standard of the future work?

The developments in 2008-2010 became a logical development of UMTS. LTE is a new standard that aims to improve signal processing speed and throughput, and in technical terms - to simplify the network architecture and thereby reduce the time during data transfer. In Russia, the LTE network was officially launched in 2012.

It is LTE technology that determines the development in our country mobile internet new generation - 4G. This means access to live streaming, fast transfer of large files and other advantages of the modern Internet.

At the moment, 4G Internet is supported by the LTE 800, LTE 1800, LTE 2600 standards, using the LTE Cat.4, Cat.5, Cat.6 protocols. This allows, in theory, to obtain a data transfer rate of up to 100 Mbps on the return and up to 50 Mbps on the reception.

High LTE frequencies become an ideal solution for regions where the population density is quite high and where such a data transfer rate is very important. These include, for example, large industrial cities. However, if all operators will only work in the range LTE 2600– there will be a problem with the coverage of the radio signal immediately.

Now residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, Sochi, Ufa and Samara can take advantage of 4G technology. In Russia, Yota became one of the first operators to develop the fourth generation of mobile standards. Now such large operators as Megafon and MTS have joined them.

Development is considered optimal today LTE 1800: This frequency is more economical and allows new companies that offer mobile services to enter the market. It is even cheaper to build networks at 800 MHz. Thus, it is possible to predict what LTE 800 And LTE 1800 will be the most popular among operators and, accordingly, with you and me.

LTE frequencies of various mobile operators

- Megaphone: frequencies LTE 742.5-750 MHz / 783.5-791 MHz, 847-854.5 MHz / 806-813.5 MHz, 2530-2540 MHz / 2650-2660 MHz, 2570-2595 MHz (license for Moscow and Moscow region );

- MTS: frequencies LTE 720-727.5 MHz / 761-768.5 MHz, 839.5-847 MHz / 798.5-806 MHz, 1710-1785 MHz / 1805-1880 MHz, 2540-2550 MHz / 2660-2670 MHz, 2595 -2620 MHz (license for Moscow and Moscow region);

- Beeline: frequencies LTE 735-742.5 MHz / 776-783.5 MHz, 854.5-862 MHz / 813.5-821 MHz, 2550-2560 MHz / 2670-2680 MHz.

Rostelecom: LTE frequencies 2560-2570 / 2680-2690 MHz.

Yota: LTE frequencies 2500-2530 / 2630-2650 MHz.

Tele2: frequencies 791-798.5 / 832 - 839.5 MHz.

Signal amplification at different frequencies

When you enter an area of ​​poor signal reception or move far away from your carrier's base station, without additional antenna not enough.

Directional Antennas UMTS 900 signal has an elementary package and can significantly increase the level of communication. At the same time, not only the Internet connection becomes more stable, but also the quality of voice transmission during telephone conversation. You can't do without a UMTS 2100 antenna if you want to use the Internet while traveling: due to the constant switching from tower to tower, the data transfer rate drops catastrophically.

Directed LTE antennas 800 And LTE 1800 antennas- the best option for amplifying the 4G signal in the appropriate frequencies. These standards have higher penetration and signal range.

However, the data transfer rate is higher for LTE 2600, due to which 80% of users in Moscow have already switched to this standard. And purchase LTE 2600 antennas is a prerequisite for those who have chosen 4G LTE 2600 (Megafon, MTS, Beeline, Rostelecom, Yota) to get the maximum speed of the Internet. AmplifierLTEsignal will ensure stable data transmission at high frequencies.

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