5G FR1 Frequency Bands

5G FR1 (Frequency Range 1) consists of Sub-6 GHz frequency bands allocated to 5G. Ever since the introduction of GSM, there has been an increasing demand for additional frequency bands. GSM/UMTS mostly utilized 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands while 4G LTE utilized frequencies of up to 6 GHz. With 5G, even higher frequency bands have been allocated for operation with bands going up to 39 GHz and higher.

However, not every frequency in between is being utilized for 5G deployment. Sub-6 GHz frequencies (low/mid-band) have been classified as Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and frequencies higher than 24 GHz (mmWave) are classified as Frequency Range 2 (FR2). Networks operating on FR1 may not provide the absolute best 5G performance, but they provide a decent balance between range and performance.

Frequency Range 1 (FR1)

FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) Frequency Bands

TDD (Time Division Duplex) Frequency Bands

Supplementary Downlink Bands (SDL) & Supplementary Uplink Bands (SUL)

5G was developed to bring a new era of internet speed, latency, and a host of other improvements. It is expected to achieve a record number of subscribers in the coming years and with ever increasing usage of mobile communications comes the necessity of additional frequency bands.