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I am going to travel in the USA with my Samsung Galaxy SM-G900F phone, whose 4G network frequencies are 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600.

I want to use AT&T, which I read

uses 700MHz as it's primary LTE frequency. AT&T also uses 1700, 1900 and 2300 MHz frequencies as its supplemental coverage in some markets, to provide additional LTE bandwidth.

How good is the AT&T coverage for the 1700 and 1900 frequencies (which are the only frequencies that both AT&T and my phone has)?

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    Where exactly will you be in the US? – Flimzy Dec 24 '14 at 11:05
  • I'll be traveling in the following areas: Massachusetts, New York, Seattle, California and Miami. – Franck Dernoncourt Dec 24 '14 at 16:10
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    Why is this question getting flagged as too broad? I thought I was being pretty specific. Can any close voter comment? Thanks! – Franck Dernoncourt Dec 24 '14 at 17:01
  • Knowing the specific areas is helpful because 4G frequency bands won't be widely deployed immediately after their introduction. In the US, several frequency bands which were previously used for other purposes have been reassigned to mobile carriers for LTE over the past few years. – Michael Hampton Dec 26 '14 at 2:04
  • The USA is a huge place. It might be possible to link to AT&T's 4G coverage map, but that almost certainly won't have the level of detail you want. Providing the level of detail you want for every 4G coverage area in the US is pretty much the definition of 'too broad'--and it will change all the time. If you tell us exactly which city(ies) you will visit, it will make it much easier to provide (and as information changes, update) an answer for you. – Flimzy Dec 26 '14 at 19:22
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Comparing the LTE bands of your phone to the LTE bands used by mobile carriers in the US, the only one in common is band 2.

Unfortunately, this frequency band was previously used for 2G service, and has only recently been repurposed as an LTE band, so coverage is currently minimal.

You should get 4G in New York City on AT&T on this band, but don't count on it anywhere else.

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4G probably won't work, but 3G will. That is, you'll have good coverage for making calls, and slower data than you're used to, but it should more or less work. You can check T-Mobile also, but the situation is likely to be similar.

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  • To add to this answer: AT&T made some network changes in the northeast US at the end of October that caused 4G phones to drop calls. This thread can provide some more info/rants. So a non-AT&T phone might not be able to use 4G anyway. – kdgregory Dec 27 '14 at 13:07

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